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U.N. bid referendum will not change country's name: president

ROC Central News Agency

2007-09-15 13:38:47

    Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian reiterated Saturday that the planned referendum on applying to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan does not involve changing the country's official name or violate his "four noes" pledges to the United States.

    Chen made the remarks in response to questions from reporters on the high-speed train to the southern city of Kaohsiung to take part in a rally in support of the U.N. bid and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-proposed referendum on the bid.

    Calling the United States the best friend and most loyal ally of Taiwan, Chen rejected allegations that the referendum will be an "anti-America" referendum and dismissed as "groundless worries" U.S. concerns that the referendum appears intended to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and could increase tension in the regions.

    According to Chen, the two countries have been communicating on the issue and Taiwan also fully understands the message that Washington is trying to pass on.

    However, the United States still has a lot of "misunderstandings" about the referendum, he claimed.

    For example, Chen said, American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt asked him last month what he is going to say upon the passage of the referendum March 22 next year and what Taiwan is going to do in the next step.

    Chen claimed there is no reason for the United States to oppose the referendum, given that referendums are part of democracy, that joining the United Nations is in line with the majority opinion of the Taiwan people, and that there is no better name than Taiwan for the country to use to join the world body.

    While it carries profound meaning that the appeal to use the name Taiwan to apply for U.N. membership has obtained the support of more than 8 million people in the country, it does not mean that Taiwan will become a U.N. member even if the referendum is passed, Chen pointed out.

    As Taiwan's membership application might be vetoed, the country needs to renew its bid again and again until it succeeds, he said.

    Claiming that only using the name Taiwan to apply for U.N. membership will allow the bid to grasp the attention of the international community, the president pointed out that coverage by international media about Taiwan's U.N. bid over the past two months is four times as much as last year's bid received.

    According to Chen, the campaign being promoted by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on returning to the United Nations under the name Republic of China has not received any international attention "because everyone knows it is meaningless and self-deceiving."

    Chen claimed that the KMT-initiated campaign will involve competing with the People's Republic of China for the U.N. representation of China, which he said will once again trap Taiwan in the frame of "one China."

    He said people should vote for the DPP-backed referendum if they think Taiwan is a sovereign state independent of the PRC.

    However, if they think Taiwan is part of the PRC, support the "one China" principle, advocate the ultimate unification of Taiwan and China, or believe the territory of the ROC covers China and Outer Mongolia, they should go ahead and vote for the KMT-backed referendum, he added.

    The ROC has tried without success to re-enter the United Nations since 1993. This year marks the first time it has changed tactics by bidding to join the world body under the name Taiwan.

(By Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/J