Wed, Jun 22, 2005 page3

• Alliance cautions against playing Beijing's game

  • By Jewel Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  A pro-independence group yesterday warned that Taiwan must not become Beijing's pawn in the growing conflict between China and Japan, and stressed that fishing disputes between Taiwan and Japan should be handled through diplomatic channels, rather than by dispatching warships.

  The Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance (手護台灣大聯盟) expressed concern about a series of recent disputes with Japan, including independent Aboriginal Legislator May Chin's (高金素梅) attempt to visit the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (王金平) insistence on sailing aboard a navy frigate to waters near the Diaoyutais to demonstrate a determination to protect Taiwanese fishermen in the area from Japanese patrols.

  Political commentators and lawmakers pointed out that these events show that many people in Taiwan are confused about their national identification and that if they succeed in provoking hostility between Taiwan and Japan, China is the only country that will benefit.

  "Officials have to tackle international issues with cool heads -- impulsive actions won't work," said World United Formosans for Independence chairman Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂).

  Ng said that both Taiwan and Japan are democratic countries that respect freedom and human rights and that it is inappropriate for Wang and Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) to sail to the Diaoyutais without first negotiating with Japan.

  Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), editor-in-chief of Contemporary Magazine, said that China's strategy in Asia is to "oppose Japan, control the US and annex Taiwan," and that some in Taiwan are all too happy to play along.

  "I'm afraid that the public's fears that the pan-blue camp is collaborating with China so that it can control Taiwan is true," Chin said.

  DPP Legislator Chai Trong (蔡同榮) said Taiwan's fundamental security strategy is to ally with Japan and that fishing disputes should be settled through quiet diplomacy.

  "Some people want Taiwan to confront Japan," Chai said. "I urge Taiwan not to confront Japan, but to ally with Japan. Taiwan has to be careful not to become China's pawn."

  Lee Hsien-jen (李先仁), from the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) department of policy studies, said that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) argued that the protection of fishermen and protection of sovereignty should be separate issues, and that the government should not sacrifice fishermen's rights because of sovereignty disputes.

  "The present problem is the vague boundary," Lee Hsieh-jen said. "Therefore, the TSU will propose a law for defending and demarcating Taiwan's territory."
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