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U.N. bid referendum will push U.S. to change attitude: president

ROC Central News Agency

2007-10-20 23:26:46

    Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Saturday that Taiwan will stand a better chance of persuading the United States to support its bid to join the United Nations if the ruling party-initiated U.N. bid referendum proposal gets passed.

    Chen made the remarks while attending a prayer service at the Eastgate Presbyterian Church in the southern city of Tainan. The prayer service was held to beg for God's blessing for the country's quest for U.N. membership.

    Noting that insisting on Taiwan's separate identity and pursuing social justice have been his fundamental policy values, Chen said the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -proposed referendum on whether to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan to be held alongside the presidential election March 22, 2008 is fleshed out in line with the Taiwan-centric vision of the Taiwanese identity.

    Despite U.S. concerns over the referendum proposal, Chen said he will not waver in the campaign for its holding because it is the right path that Taiwan must pursue. "So long as we have confidence in Taiwan, its people and democracy, we will succeed eventually, " he added.

    When the country's first-ever referendum was held alongside the 2004 presidential election, Chen recalled that the opposition camp pulled out all the stops to boycott. Still, some 7 million voters cast ballots in the referendum on issues regarding the country's defense buildup. This time around, Chen said, even the main opposition Kuomintang is pushing for a referendum on whether the country should re-join the U.N. under its official title "Republic of China."

    All these developments prove progress in Taiwan's democratic development, Chen said, adding he firmly believes that the passage of the DPP-initiated U.N. bid referendum will be very helpful to lobby U.S. support for the cause.

    As of Friday, Chen said, the DPP referendum initiative had collected 1.38 million endorsement signatures and the number is expected to reach the 2 million target by the end of this month.

    If 8 million eligible voters cast "yes" ballots next year to have the referendum pass its high legal threshold, Chen said he is convinced that the ratio of American people supportive of Taiwan's U.N. bid will increase from the current 55 percent to 70 percent.

    Should that be the case, Chen said, U.S. Congress and the White House will feel the pinch of the American public opinion and eventually change its attitude and lend support behind Taiwan's U.N. bid.

(By Sofia Wu)

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