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Missile deployment on Matsu opposed by local council members

ROC Central News Agency

2007-09-21 19:38:53

    Matsu, Sept. 21 (CNA) Members of the Lienchiang county council expressed strong opposition Friday to plans of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to build missile bases at two locations in the Matsu island group.

    In an extraordinary session held by the county council in response to media reports on the missile deployment issue, Councilor Chen Shu-chien quoted reports as saying that the MND had planned to deploy surface-to-surface missiles on Tungyin and Nangan -- two of the five major islands in the Matsu island chain -- but suspended the plans because of pressure from the U.S. government.

    Chen said he is firmly opposed to the plans because if missile bases are set up on Tunghin and Nanga, the two islands could become priority targets of the Chinese.

    Councilor Hsieh Cheng-chun described the MND's plans as "extremely inappropriate" because in working out the plans, the military never once consulted the opinions of the people living in the area.

    Chang Yung-chiang, a councilor elected from Tungyin, said Matsu residents have already made many sacrifices under the shadow of war amid the standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

    He said the missile deployment will not only endanger the lives of the local residents but will further reduce the number of garrison troops on the Matsu islands and drive the local economy deeper into recession.

    The three councilors urged Lienchiang Magistrate Chen Hsueh-sheng to communicate with the central government in Taipei to reflect Matsu residents' opposition to the planned missile deployment.

    In reply, the magistrate said that although the local government has no say on the nation's defense policy, he respects the councilor's views and will find an opportunity to convey to the central government their opposition to the missile deployment.

    The Matsu island group consists of 19 islands and islets located just off the coast of China's Fujian Province and administered as Lienchiang County. Altogether, the county has 22 villages, divided into 137 neighborhoods

    Earlier this week, the MND refused to comment on a news report that it had suspended the plan to deploy missiles in Matsu as a result of U.S. pressure.

    The report said the military had allocated a budget and sent missile experts to Matsu earlier this year to prepare for the deployment of the surface-to-surface missiles.

(By Han Nai-kuo)

ENDITEM/J