Wed, Feb 18, 2004 page3

• Chen attacks Lien's vacillation

  FLIP-FLOP POLICY The president criticized his opponent for wavering on the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty, quoting the KMT chairman's remarks during the 2000 election

  • By Lin Chieh-yu / STAFF REPORTER
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  President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday continued to criticize his presidential campaign counterpart Lien Chan (連戰) on the sovereignty issue, saying that the differences and contradictory statements between Lien and his running mate James Soong (宋楚瑜) about the cross-strait status quo could become a crucial element of danger for Taiwan.

  "Lien has given us many different versions of his stance on the cross-strait relationship issue, but he has never told the public which one of his avowed beliefs is the truth," Chen said during a campaign activity in Taipei City yesterday.

  The president said Lien had approved of former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) "special state-to-state" remark in 1999, then proposed the "union theory" as a possible means of resolving the issue, before insisting on "one China with each side of the Strait having its own interpretation."

  "Now he even asks the people of the country to accept his idea of `putting aside sovereignty' to negotiate with China," Chen said.

  "Moreover, his running mate, Soong, once advocated the `one China' theory, which stated that Taiwan is a part of China, as well as a `quasi-international relationship' to describe the cross-strait status quo in the 2000 presidential election," Chen said.

  Chen reminded the public that Lien at once severely criticized Soong for his advocacy of "capitulation."

  "Lien even called Soong an opportunist who would absolutely sell out Taiwan if he won the presidential election," Chen said.

  "Those two politicians, who apparently have no concrete dedication to their country, are now hand-in-hand and want to run for head of state," he said. "How can we trust them?"

  Chen stressed that his commitment to protect Taiwan's sovereignty remains unchanged, while his opponents had always been inconsistent on this issue.

  "Anything but the nation's sovereignty can be put aside," said Chen.

  During last week's TV debate, Lien said that both sides should put aside sovereignty issues and precede with negotiating administrative affairs in response to one of Chen's questions about how to meet a timetable for establishing direct links, in light of Beijing's "one China" principle.

  Chen attacked Lien for giving up Taiwan's sovereignty, saying that such an approach was hazardous.

  Lien has said over the past few days that Chen viciously misinterpreted his remarks.

  "What I was saying is that both sides should put aside those issues related to the sovereignty dispute and focus on those negotiations touching on administrative affairs," Lien said during yesterday's campaign activity.

  "Chen Shui-bian is just playing his old trick of putting a label on me," Lien said.

  However, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday kept attacking Lien's phrase "putting aside sovereignty," saying that its presidential campaign headquarters was prepared to make 100,000 VCD copies of the TV debate to distribute to the public.

  "We believe that they can make their own judgment after watching the VCD," said DPP Department of Information and Culture Deputy Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦).

  Meanwhile, Chen yesterday announced that Nobel laureate and Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) has promised to serve as the convener of a proposed peace task force.

  "Nine influential figures from different fields have promised to join the task force and Lee Yuan-tseh will be its convener," Chen said, adding that the task force will begin formal operations after March 20.

  Chen vowed last Friday to form a task force to create a "peace and stability framework for cross-strait interaction," which is a part of the second question of the referendum.
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