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TAIPEI MAYORAL ASPIRANT OPPOSES U.S. PRESSURE ON TAIWAN TO BUY ARMS

ROC Central News Agency

2006-10-26 21:15:19

    Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) Former opposition People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong, who has quit as party leader to run for Taipei mayor, said Thursday he opposes a purchase of major weapons from the United States but supports a budget to study the feasibility of buying submarines.

    Soong made the remarks after American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young urged Taiwan's legislature to pass a government bill on the procurement of major weapons systems during its current session.

    Taiwan might miss its chance of procuring those weapons at all if the bill cannot be approved this autumn, according to Young.

    Soong said he met with Young a day earlier and told him that as PFP chairman he supports "reasonable" military procurements and has never objected to the idea of having a strong defense capability.

    Soong said the PFP and its "pan-blue alliance" ally the Kuomintang (KMT) won a majority of legislative seats during the last election because the two parties opposed the military purchases.

    Claiming that "reasonable budget for military purchase" remains Taiwan's mainstream view, Soong said the PFP and the KMT must not "breach people's trust in us."

    He criticized Young for demanding that Taiwan's legislature pass the bill within a certain time limit, adding that if the U.S. really cares about Taiwan's democracy, not only will the Republican Party's administration care about Taiwan, the Democratic Party will also care about Taiwan should it become the ruling party.

    He noted that the U.S. is in the midst of a mid-term election. Although Taiwan should not get involved in American politics, it should not just hear the advice of "some Republican candidates but should also take Democrats as friends," he said.

    To ensure Taiwan's security, Soong said Taiwan should not provoke China or rely on the U.S. for its defense. "We should try to build a framework of peace across the Taiwan Strait in accordance with the international situation," he said.

(By S.C. Chang)

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