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INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TOLERATES CROSS-STRAIT IMBALANCE: PRESIDENT

ROC Central News Agency

2006-02-09 23:09:13

    Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday that the international community's "over-tolerance" of China's military threat toward Taiwan is creating "serious imbalances" in cross-Taiwan Strait relations. "The international community's over-tolerance of China's military build-up and war preparations against Taiwan, gradually pushing the cross-strait situation to the brink of war short of a formal declaration, and disregard of Taiwan people's outcry... have all resulted in the misjudgments for the serious imbalances now exist in cross-strait political and military relations, " Chen said. "Consequently, Taiwan's democracy, as well as the Asia-Pacific 'community of democracies, ' the United States, and Japan's security interests in West Pacific, are now imperiled," he said.

    Chen made the statement Thursday at a spring banquet for foreign ambassadors and representatives in Taiwan hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang in Taipei and attended by representatives from over 60 countries including acting American Institute in Taiwan Director David Davison. Chen, Vice President Annette Lu, Premier Su Tseng-chang and Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen were also present.

    Chen used the occasion to urge the international community to re-examine cross-strait relations. He said that since 2000, his government has extended "more than 40 olive branches of peace to China" and acted on the principles of "goodwill reconciliation, pro-active cooperation and permanent peace" in the hope of opening cross-strait dialogue and reconciliation. "Establishing a 'peace and stability framework for cross-strait interaction' satisfies the collective expectations that the United States, Japan and other members of the international community have for permanent peace in the Taiwan Strait and for the maintenance of the cross-strait status quo," Chen said. "However, over the past six years, China's leaders have never responded with goodwill to our calls for resumption of dialogue... China continues to aggravate the Taiwan people's sentiments by employing tactics such as military intimidation, political subversion and attempting to bring about unification by coercing the business community into complying with their agenda," he said.

    Chen said China's intention and capability to use force against Taiwan is a "publicly known secret, " and "it has made preparations to materialize such intent."

    He said that as the elected leader of Taiwan, he cannot allow imbalances in cross-strait relations to "continue to deteriorate." He said Taiwan's future cannot be decided unilaterally without "the consent of the Taiwan people through democratic processes, " as the right to self-determination is a universal value. "It is my earnest hope that the voice of Taiwan's democracy would galvanize the support of international justice from the global community," Chen said.

(By Debby Wu)

ENDITEM/J