Premier Frank Hsieh (
In an opinion article in yesterday's Washington Post, Hsieh also rebutted Beijing's analogy between the anti-secession law and US president Abraham Lincoln's efforts to prevent the secession of the southern states before the US Civil War, saying that Lincoln "wanted to preserve the Union in the name of freedom, not to deny it."
Hsieh used the article to contrast China's totalitarianism with Taiwan's democracy and friendship with the US, emphasizing the threat to Taiwan's democracy rather than the purely military aspects of the law.
"Taiwan agrees with the democratic vision of President [George W.] Bush: security will ultimately be guaranteed only through the advance of liberty," Hsieh wrote.
"It is no surprise that the most serious security problems we face in East Asia come from the policies being adopted by the region's two remaining one-party dictatorships: China and North Korea," he continued.
Titled, "Taiwan's Right to Freedom," the Post article says that today's mass rally against the anti-secession law was called to oppose the idea that China has the "right" to "use force to subjugate the people of Taiwan," and oppose the notion that "some 2,900 unelected and unaccountable Chinese `parliamentarians' have the right to determine the future of the 23 million people of Taiwan."
It says Beijing's US Civil War analogy is flawed because the Union that Lincoln sought to preserved was formed in 1787 by the ratification of the states in a process that rested on popular consent. "China's `law,'" Hsieh wrote, "is the product of one-party tyranny" and refers to a Taiwan "that has never been a part of, or under the sovereign control of, the People's Republic of China."
Despite repeated efforts by President Chen Shui-bian (
The premier also said that the process by which the anti-secession law was passed, including Beijing's refusal to release the text until after the National People's Congress agreed to the law, underscores the differences between the political systems of China and Taiwan.
That was in stark contrast to Taiwan's vibrant democracy, which has enriched the lives of it people, he said, while the Chinese people "live in a dictatorship with no political, religious or civic freedoms."
"Taiwan is an ally of the United States and has actively supported the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative. China has repeatedly been the subject of sanctions for its weapons proliferation activities around the world," Hseih wrote.
"Taiwan has renounced all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. China is expanding its nuclear arsenal and developing new generations of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles capable of reaching US soil," Hsieh added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as