Taiwan President Pushes Independence From China Chen Condemns Beijing for Stifling Democracy in Hong Kong
By Philip P. Pan and David E. Hoffman Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, March 29, 2004; 11:55 AM
TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 29 -- President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan condemned China on Monday for blocking popular demands for democratic reform in Hong Kong, saying its actions have made the Taiwanese people more determined to reject unification with the mainland and to continue building their own "independent, sovereign country" despite the risk of war.
In his first interview since a failed attempt on his life and a narrow election victory that his opponents have challenged, Chen also declared he had won a mandate from voters and vowed to push ahead with plans to write a new constitution for Taiwan within two years, a move China has said could amount to a declaration of independence and compel it seize the island by force. Bush administration officials have also expressed concern the plan might drag the United States into a military confrontation with China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
Chen's defiant remarks, delivered in Chinese during a one-hour interview inside the presidential palace, signaled a tough line toward China's leaders in a second term. His comments came days after Beijing issued an unusually strong warning that it would not tolerate turmoil in Taiwan and announced plans to issue a legal ruling as early as Friday that could squash growing demands in Hong Kong for direct elections to choose the city's leaders.
By speaking out at such a sensitive moment and drawing a link between Taiwan's future and the Chinese government's approach in Hong Kong, Chen raised the stakes for those in Beijing's Communist Party leadership who want to stifle the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony.
"In Taiwan, we have full democracy and our freedom and democracy are fully protected," he said. "We do not wish to return to the era of authoritarianism. We don't want our freedoms to be restricted or taken away. It is impossible for us to envision going backward. We do not want to lose the freedom and democracy that have been hard won by our people."
"Right now, the people of Hong Kong are fighting for direct elections for their chief executive and general elections for the entire legislature, but the Beijing authorities are unable to consent. They even say, 'Wait another 30 years and we'll see.' I think this is very ridiculous," Chen said. "For the 23 million people of Taiwan, this is the greatest warning, and also the clearest signal."
"'One country, two systems' is totally unattractive to the Taiwan people," he added, referring to the formula under which Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and which Beijing says Taiwan must eventually accept. "What has happened in Hong Kong has shown that this system, this formula, is a total failure."
Chen said Taiwan has observed "major problems" with Beijing's rule of Hong Kong, recalling that about 500,000 people turned out for a huge demonstration last July "because they felt their freedom and democracy had been infringed upon."
Chen acknowledged he had won reelection only by a slim margin on March 20 and that his referendum proposals on relations with China failed. But the 54-year-old lawyer, who appeared relaxed and confident, noted he won the support of 1.5 million more voters than in 2000, when he was elected with only 39 percent of the vote. He attributed the increase in his support to 50.1 percent to a growing sense among Taiwanese that they are citizens of a new, independent nation separate from China.
"The fundamental reason I won this presidential election . . . is because there is a rising Taiwan identity and it has been solidified," Chen said. "I think the Beijing authorities should take heed of this fact and accept the reality."
The Chinese government refused to hold talks with Chen during his first term because he would not endorse its "one China" principle, which holds that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. Chen said he would continue to reject the demand in his second term because Beijing defines "one China" as the People's Republic of China and Taiwan as a local government, "which is totally unacceptable to our people."
"I think we have reached an internal consensus that insists on Taiwan being an independent, sovereign country," Chen said, noting that his opponent in the presidential race, Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan, backed away from his party's longstanding position in favor of unification with the mainland during the campaign.
But Chen also said he wanted to set aside his differences with China on Taiwan's current status and begin negotiations to improve cross-strait relations, including establishing political relations, opening direct air and shipping links and reducing military tensions.
If the Chinese government insists on the "one China" principle as a precondition for talks, Chen said, Taiwan will only answer with a demand that China must recognize it as a separate country. "Then, I believe the two sides will be forever deadlocked, major differences cannot be solved and it will be impossible for both sides to sit down and talk," he said. "We understand this in our hearts. So don't raise the 'one China' principle."
Chen also repeated an offer he made four years ago to discuss the possibility of Taiwan's unification with China in the distant future, and said he had set up a task force to focus on relations with the mainland.
"The so-called 'one China' does not exist now. Perhaps it will in the future," he said. "We should all be able to sit together and deal with the future one China issue together."
Chen defended his plan to write a new constitution for Taiwan, approve it in a referendum in 2006, and enact it by 2008, when Beijing is scheduled to host the Summer Olympics. The Chinese government has argued that a new constitution would sever Taiwan's legal ties with the mainland, and senior Chinese military officers have declared that China is willing to go to war against Taiwan even if it means an Olympic boycott.
But Chen said the new constitution had nothing to do with Taiwan's independence and instead was aimed at deepening democratic reform and improving governance in Taiwan, by lowering the voting age, adding new human rights guarantees, reducing the size of the legislature and settling other disputes that have left the island's government in gridlock.
"It is not a timetable for independence or any attempt to change our status quo," Chen said. "Our future efforts at re-engineering our constitution and constitutional reforms will be only done on the principle of not changing the status quo."
Asked how he would address China's increasing build-up of missiles and other military capabilities aimed at Taiwan, Chen said he would continue to strengthen Taiwan's military and expand its defense and "counter-strike" forces. But he said he would not be drawn into an expensive arms race with China. He also said Taiwan would not develop offensive weapons to deter a Chinese attack, as some military experts have urged as a lower-cost alternative to defensive systems.
Instead, he said Taiwan's democracy would help it stand up to Chinese aggression. "I think democracy, and by insisting on having a democratic Taiwan, is the greatest defense and the best arms that we have in the face of China's military threat," he said.
Addressing the ongoing dispute over the results of the presidential election, which he won by less than 30,000 votes, or 0.2 percent, out of a total of 13 million cast, Chen expressed sympathy for his opponents but urged them to accept the will of the people. "Even if you just win by one vote, you still win. And even if you lose by one vote, you still lose, and everybody must accept such a result," he said.
Chen denied charges that he engaged in election fraud or staged an assassination attempt the day before the election to win sympathy from voters. After a week of street protests, Chen agreed Saturday to opposition demands that he allow the courts to conduct a full recount and that he set up a special task force with international experts to investigate the shooting. No suspect or weapon has been identified.
Chen, who suffered a flesh wound across his abdomen when a bullet grazed him as he waved from an open sport utility vehicle at crowds of supporters, said the experience changed him. "For me personally, I have just completed the last election of my lifetime. The day before the election, I trod the fine line of death. And that had a great impact on my life philosophy and my attitude toward my political career," he said. "I will not be knocked down or defeated so easily."
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