To avoid being a lame duck is the one major task looming for President Chen Shui-bian (
Should the people of Taiwan see no major achievements in Chen's second term in office, it would have repercussions for the presence of a pro-Taiwan government in the 2008 presidential election, the former president said in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times.
"Chen needs to take into account that should he become a lame duck during the remaining three and half years he has in office, it would draw criticism from the Taiwanese people, who would find the Chen Shui-bian administration unsatisfactory in that it has accomplished nothing major in terms of governance during Chen's eight years as president," Lee said.
"Should that be the case, then it would have a bearing on the continuing existence of a pro-Taiwan regime and jeopardize its chances in the 2008 presidential election," he said.
In view of mounting talks about cooperation between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the People First Party (PFP), Lee said, from his perspective as a civilian, he looked forward to reconciliation between the governing and opposition parties.
However, the DPP administration ought not to give the premiership to the PFP if it considered forming a coalition Cabinet with the party, Lee said, stating that "it would be an irresponsible move to give the PFP the premiership ? it will not be good."
In terms of Taiwan's relations with the US, Lee said that Taiwan could work to foster ties with the US through many different ways, including communication between the governments, establishing private exchanges and strengthening interaction with US think tanks as well as parliamentary groups.
Communication is important, Lee said, "so you don't leave the US government feeling that you don't tell them things, forcing them to revert to doing guesswork."
Commenting on China's plan to enact its "anti-secession law," Lee said the planned law "aims at scaring Taiwan's people" as well as "discouraging people from speaking up and speaking out for Taiwan independence."
While the content of the proposed law is yet unknown, Lee said China is selling this law to those countries that recognized China's allegation that Taiwan was part of the mainland and telling them that once the law has been enacted, they should help Beijing catch Taiwan independence advocates.
With that said, Lee stressed that "Taiwan is not part of China's territory," noting that Taiwan "needs not always operate to accommodate whatever China does or say."
Referring to the recent agreement with China on direct charter flight during the Lunar New Year holidays, Lee wondered whether this mode of cross-strait links best demonstrate international links. Going via Hong Kong seemed more like a domestic link., He said. It would have been better to route the flights via Japan, he said.
When dealing with China, one should be mindful not to fall prey to its trickery and sell out Taiwan in the process, Lee said.
On economic issues, the former president noted that there is no need for the NT Dollar to rise in value as long as China's currency does not do so.
A strong yuan will impose robust operating costs on export-oriented Taiwanese contractors operating in China, nullifying their efforts to seek cheaper production, he said.
"To a certain extent, it may be good in a way that these China-based Taiwanese businesses would start coming back to Taiwan," Lee said.
Lee also said he was eager to visit Japan again in the hope that he could experience the journey of the famous Okunohosomichi (奧之細道).
"If one says that Bushido is the traditional Japanese values of the samurai, who once ruled Japan, then the Okunohosomichi undoubtedly symbolizes Japanese attitude toward life," Lee said.
Lee said, along the route, there are many temples, in which [buddhist monks] are chanting Haiku.
"I really like to visit those temples, if my health allows me in future," Lee said.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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