The Hindu : Chen vows not to buckle under U.S. pressure

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 12, 2003

International

International

Chen vows not to buckle under U.S. pressure

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Dec. 11. The Taiwanese President, Chen Shui-bian, vowed not to buckle to international pressure, including that from an ally like the U.S., on the issue of holding a "defensive referendum'', even as his Democratic Progressive Party nominated him for re-election to the territory's highest executive position. Taiwan, not recognised by the international community as a sovereign state, will hold the next presidential poll on March 20 next year.

Mr. Chen, a former political prisoner and still a campaigner for democracy at home, today retained the Vice-President, Annette Lu, as his running mate.

He is expected to face Lien Chan, the Kuomintang Party Chairman, and James Soong, Chairman of the People First Party, in the presidential poll, which has acquired more than the usual importance in the current context of the U.S. President, George W. Bush's explicit opposition to Mr. Chen's own perceived move to change the status quo regarding Taiwan's political status. Mr. Chen maintained that his plan for a referendum on the same day as the general election was only meant to "avoid war'' with China and to "maintain the status quo''.

Amplifying the scope of the proposed plebiscite, after receiving his party's nomination for re-election, Mr. Chen said that his move would help reveal the Taiwanese' opposition to China's deployment of ballistic missiles in a threatening posture against these people. The prospective plebiscite, he said, would also help send a clear message to China and the international community that "military force is absolutely not the method or choice to resolve the Taiwan Strait issue''.

"No one can maintain that it is natural to force the Taiwan people to live under the threat of missiles, nor can any one interpret the pursuit of democracy and peace by our 23 million people as a so-called provocation'', Mr. Chen said.

Urging China to recognise that "Taiwan is not a problem but a success story'', he reaffirmed faith in the Democratic Progressive Party's banners of "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait'' and "democratic reform''.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Sharon's plan a recipe for disaster: Qurei

Europe, Russia angry over U.S. decision

Chen vows not to buckle under U.S. pressure

E.U. set to finalise draft constitution

Mugabe may be stripped of knighthood

Rights award for Zimbabwean lawyer

Pakistani scientists taken away for 'debriefing'

'IT future lies in developing world'

Historic flight to Shanghai