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Former generals, academics to rally against arms deal

A huge number of people, including retired generals and academics, plan to stage a large-scale protest against the government’s special NT$610.8 billion (US$18.2 billion) arms procurement budget which they fear could stir cross-strait hostility and threaten national security.

Organizers decided to hold the rally Saturday afternoon in Taipei as the Legislative Yuan is ready to review the special statute and budget plans.

Protesters will start gathering at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park at 2:00 p.m. and then march toward the Presidential Office. They plan to stage concert at the Presidential Plaza to advocate their case for love and peace.

The Executive Yuan (Cabinet) on June 2 approved the special budget for the purchase of advanced weaponry from the United States amid rising tensions with rival China as leaders in Taiwan continue pushing for a new Constitution and a change of the nation’s name.

The shopping list covers eight submarines, a modified version of the Patriot anti-missile system and a fleet of anti-submarine aircraft over a 15-year period beginning in 2005. The bill is pending final approval by lawmakers.

Some critics say Taiwan cannot afford the expense while others say the new weaponry will not be effective to help the island fend off any possible Chinese attacks in coming years.

“An arms race between Taiwan and China would result in a disaster for the island as military spending is a bottomless hole,” Lin Shen-jing, director of Democracy Action Alliance, one of the rally’s main organizers, said.

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“Besides, the hefty military spending will force the government to cut social welfare and education budgets which will also threaten the island’s stability,” he added.

Lin said more than 60 retired generals have endorsed a petition against the special budget, with some of them intending to join the rally in Taipei.

“I won’t be surprised if more than 10,000 people show up to protest as the response is quite strong,” he added.

Eleven academics from Taiwan’s top research institution the Academia Sinica also threw their weight behind the protest.

“Raising debts to purchase advanced weaponry without evaluating the effects would sacrifice the public’s interests,” they said in a joint statement.

“It will only lead Taiwan to an arms race by prompting China to expand its military equipment.”

The scholars said the people should no long sit on the sideline when Taiwan is faced with the major crises of totalitarian ruling, infighting among different communities, the arms race, and growing threats of military clashes with the opposite side of the Taiwan Strait.

They pointed out that former President Lee Teng-hui’s relentless pushing for a change to the national title and President Chen Shui-bian’s planned promulgation of a new constitution seems to have shaped the situation for Taiwan independence.

This would leave Beijing no choice and force it to resort to military action for the settlement of cross-strait problems, they said.

They said the case for an eventual war would never diminish if the trend for Taiwan independence remained strong. Even if Taiwan mobilizes all its national resources to continue purchasing weapons, it will still be unable to deter possible attacks from China, they said.

National Chung Cheng University Professor Hsieh Ta-ning, a leader of the “6018 Anti-Arms Procurement Alliance”, said this is the first time for members of the Academic Sinica to openly oppose the weaponry purchases and arms race. He expects more academics to join the movement.

National Chengchi University Professor Chang Ya-chung said the government plans to sell national land and state-owned stocks, and raise debts for the military budget while many people are still left homeless by the national disasters and jobless laborers cannot afford housing loans as well as food and tuition for their children.

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