Fri, Oct 08, 2004 page8

• Editorial: How not to defend the country

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  Comments by Richard Lawless, a deputy undersecretary at the US Department of Defense, regarding the controversial NT$610.8 billion (US$18 billion) budget for arms from the US, stirred up debate this week. Unfortunately, the reaction of most opposition politicians reflects the immaturity of this nation's democracy: National security continues to be subservient to the interests of political parties.

  Lawless indicated that a failure to approve the budget would give China reason to believe that military intimidation is an effective means in bringing about unification, and would also turn Taiwan into a "liability rather than a partner" in the eyes of its friends. While some people feel that such talk is less than diplomatic, it is unfortunately an understatement of the cruel predicament this country faces.

  Bluntly put, Taiwan should shoulder responsibility for its defense to the best of its ability. Otherwise, before long, no one will take its need for defense seriously.

  The opposition camp's reaction to these comments was sadly predictable. The most vulgar example was People First Party (PFP) Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), who called the US a "mafia boss" collecting protection money. If he or his party has any sensible suggestion to make in regard to the the defense of this country, they are more than welcome to share it with us. But for the moment, their comments show them up as a political organization that is as clueless and coarse as it is irrelevant.

  For his part, PFP Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) reaction was risible, and has led many to speculate that the former hard man of the martial law era may be losing his grip on matters logical. He said that if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) did not provoke China, then there would be no crisis in the Taiwan Strait and the public would not have their money wasted on buying arms.

  Soong's remarks were, of course, at odds with the position held by the rest of the world -- that China is a threat not only to peace in the Taiwan Strait but to the entire region. He is daydreaming if he thinks that the removal of the DPP government would result in China withdrawing its hundreds of missiles aimed at this country.

  He also said that the US' Taiwan Relations Act requires the US to "provide" rather than "sell" arms to Taiwan -- whatever that means. While the US government is no "mafia boss," it is certainly no charitable organization either.

  The problem with the pan-blue camp is that it feels it has to oppose whatever the government proposes to make the government look bad in the minds of voters. In other words, it is completely incapable of transcending petty party rivalries in dealing with the issue of national security. To make matters worse, members of the opposition are incapable of separating their personal hatred of the DPP from debate on critical issues. These days, it's strictly personal.

  Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) on Wednesday suggested that negotiations on the size of the package should continue. It is certainly the case that Taiwan should get the best price it can, but this should not serve as a cover for indefinitely delaying the budget in the legislature.
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