Many people feel that critics of President Chen Shu-bian's (陳水扁) proposal to abolish the National Unification Council (NUC) and unification guidelines have overreacted, including the US government.
Senior Adviser to the President Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) said: "It is undeniable that the president's proposal to scrap the National Unification Council and guidelines is in some degree based on domestic political considerations, but I think the US government has completely overreacted."
"It baffles me as to why the US opposes the idea of getting rid of a dead document and something that was long forgotten and not functional," he added. Besides, Peng continued, the president did not break his "four no's and one without" promises because the precondition for the pledges no longer exists.
Although the administration must value the US government's opinion, he said that it is impossible for Taiwan to listen to the US all of the time.
Peng also blamed the pro-unification media for complicating the matter by blowing the issue out of proportion, which caused the US to overreact.
Discussing US concerns, another Senior Adviser to the President Huang Chu-wen (黃主文) said that one democratic country must respect the democratic development of another democratic country.
Although the National Unification Council and guidelines had their historical purpose, Huang said that they are like the sign of a shop that is no longer in business and should be abandoned as soon as possible.
"When I asked former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) why he wanted to set up the unification council in the first place, he told me at that time that it was simply a safety helmet and that it did not have much meaning," Huang said.
As the first native-born Taiwanese president, Lee established the council in 1990 in order to secure his political position at the top of an authoritarian regime dominated by mainlanders, who still harbored the illusion of "reclaiming China." The guidelines were adopted by the council in 1991 as the blueprint for the government's cross-strait policy.
democratic and free
The guidelines set a goal to pursue unification with a China that is governed by a democratic and free system with an equitable distribution of wealth.
The guidelines also outline what positive steps both sides can take in the near, medium and long-term to ultimately achieve the goal of unification.
As Lee increased his hold on political power, he refrained from calling any more meetings of the council.
Chen raised political eyebrows when he proposed on the first day of the Lunar New Year that the time was ripe to seriously consider abolishing the council and guidelines.
The suggestion was widely seen as a move to counter Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) theory of "eventual unification."
Chen's proposal touched off a heated debate and drew immense criticism, both at home and abroad.
Despite media reports, the US State Department has yet to fully concede that secret trips were conducted by two US officials -- National Security Council Asia specialist Dennis Wilder and the State Department's chief Taiwan staffer, Clifford Hart -- to Taipei for meetings with Chen to try and convince him to drop plans to eliminate the unification council and guidelines.
But such trips have taken place in the past at times of particular strain in US-Taiwan relations. When Chen proposed to hold a referendum in tandem with the 2004 presidential election, the US government sent Michael Green, then senior director for East Asian affairs of the US National Security Council, to Taipei in November 2003.
On both occasions, Chen has admitted that he was under tremendous pressure, especially from the US government.
Domestically, Chen came under fire from both opposition parties and some of his own party members.
Former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) described the unification council and guidelines as "mummies consigned to the trash can" and criticized Chen's proposal as "half-witted" and "lacking political wisdom," saying that such a move was like "fetching the mummies out of the trash can."
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also questioned the process, saying that the abolition of the NUC could be done via a simple order issued by a bureau chief at the Presidential Office.
He also called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to take a more moderate stance in order to prevent voters at the center of the political spectrum from drifting toward the KMT.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) criticized Chen for being selfish, saying all he cares about during his final two years in office is how to best consolidate his position within the party rather than how to safeguard the interests of the party and the country.
Peng, however, dismissed Lin's remarks as too "cynical" because they assume that Chen's objectives are entirely self-serving.
moved
Branding Chen as an "idealist," Peng said that he personally was moved by a remark Chen made before the 2004 presidential election.
Chen was under enormous pressure from the US in the run-up to the poll. On the night of Dec. 23, 2003, Peng said that he was at Chen's house talking with the president for two hours.
"He told me that he did not care if he lost the election, but he had to set a precedent for the people to have the right to vote on important national issues," he said.
Wu Li-pei (吳澧培), another senior presidential advisor, said the president's proposal to scrap the unification council and guidelines was aimed at "opening a new road for Taiwan" because it removes the shackles from the people and returns sovereignty to them.
As Chen is under intense pressure, Wu called on the public to show their support for him. Wu said he hoped Chen would continue down the same path and not flinch because the matter would have a significant impact on the country's future.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by