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Taiwan must not wait for death: president

ROC Central News Agency

2007-07-25 21:14:53

    Taipei, July 25 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Wednesday that Taiwan must not sit idly by and wait for its doom in the face of China's attempts to suffocate the country with diplomatic suppression and military threat.

    Chen likened China's approach toward Taiwan to "a man pointing a gun at his rival with one hand while pushing him into the corner with the other." "We must not surrender, wait for death or commit a slow suicide. It would be impossible to forbid Taiwan's people from making no move, " Chen said while receiving a political delegation from the U.S. Democratic Party.

    According to Chen, China's repeated attempts to isolate Taiwan in the international arena and intimidate Taiwan militarily are unlikely to close the gap between the two sides.

    While Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of China and one of China's administrative regions, Taiwan's people will never accept such a claim, nor will they agree to concede Taiwan's sovereignty to China, Chen said.

    Under these circumstances, it will not be easy for the two sides to achieve any positive development in their political relations in the foreseeable future, Chen said.

    He claimed that Taiwan's next presidential election slated for 2008 will be a crossroads where the people will have to make a choice on whether the country will continue with the Taiwan-centric line or shift to a China-centric line that he claimed will lead to Taiwan's surrender. "Next year's election will be more than just electing the president. It will also be a choice between the Taiwan-centric line and the China-centric line and a competition between believing in Taiwan and denying Taiwan," he claimed.

    On Taiwan's relations with the United States, the president said there is a blind spot and a line blocking Taiwan's democracy from moving forward. "Whether Taiwan should continue to walk the path of democracy or stop here and allow its democracy to move backwards is a dilemma," according to Chen.

    Noting that the U.S. government has repeatedly praised Taiwan's democratic achievements, Chen said it would be impossible for Taiwan to limit its democratic development since it has taken the path of democracy.

    With a democratic system having been established in Taiwan, there should be a democratic process allowing the people to decide on the future of Taiwan and its relations with China through referendums, he said, urging the United States to review its opposition to referendums on such issues in Taiwan.

    The United States, which opposes referendums on independence or sovereignty issues in Taiwan, has expressed disapproval of a plan by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to push for a referendum on whether the country should continue to apply to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan.

    Pointing to the planned referendum, U.S. State Department officials noted that Washington "opposes any initiative that appears designed to change Taiwan's status unilaterally."

(By Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/J