• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

ANY CROSS-STRAIT TIES POSSIBLE IF CHINA GIVES UP ONE-PARTY RULE: CHEN

ROC Central News Agency

2006-04-11 16:29:00

    Taipei, April 11 (CNA) ¡@President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday that if China renounces its one-party rule and totalitarianism, there is no ruling out of the possibility of developing any forms of cross-strait relations.

    President Chen made the remarks when receiving a pro-Taiwan delegation from the European Parliament at the Presidential Office.

    Chen said he is adamantly opposed to the totalitarianism in China, adding that the Chinese people have no democracy and no freedom of speech, press or religion under Beijing's premise that power comes from the barrel of a gun and stability overrides all other considerations. "Beijing's trampling of human rights is well known, and its squeezing of the media and access to the Internet is also unacceptable," the president said.

    He reiterated that if China renounces its one-party rule and totalitarianism, there is no ruling out the developing of any forms of cross-strait relations with the consent of the Taiwan people.

    The president also took the chance to express his appreciation to the European Parliament, noting that it has passed several major resolutions in recent years to oppose a lifting of the E.U.'s ban on arms sales to China, which was imposed shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

    Chen said he hopes that the European Union will not lift its arms embargo before the human rights situation improves in China.

    He also thanked the European Parliament, noting that it has expressed the hope that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can peacefully resolve their differences and disputes through dialogue and that the free will of the 23 million people on Taiwan will be respected.

    The European Parliament also urged China several times to remove the missiles and military equipment targeting Taiwan, Chen continued.

    The president asked the delegation members to exert their influence in the European Parliament to sway the European Union nations so that Taiwan can be successful in its bid to become an observer at the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, when it convenes its annual conference May 25.

(By Lilian Wu)

enditem/Li