Chen blasts China for blocking United Nations bid

Chen made the remarks in response to a joint call of maintaining the status quo by Beijing leader Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush in a video conference with U.S. thinktank American Enterprise Institute

Hu and Bush said there is a need to keep the status quo after they held a side meeting at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Sydney, Australia.

Chen blasted China for blocking Taiwan’s bid to join the United Nations.

“Due to China’s ruthless boycott and suppression, Taiwan cannot become a member of the UN,” he said.

“The People’s Republic of China does not represent the 23 million Taiwanese people who deserve proper representation at the U.N., who deserve to apply for membership with equal status,” Chen said.

According to CCTV in Beijing, Hu told Bush that 2007 and 2008 are the two high-risk years concerning the Taiwan Strait region.

He criticized Taiwan authorities for ignoring the warnings from all sides to hold off on a referendum in Taiwan for Taiwan’s membership in the U.N. in the name of Taiwan.

“We must give stronger warnings to the Taiwan authorities,” Hu was quoted as saying.

Concerning the issue, Bush was quoted as saying that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has clarified the American stand and Washington will pay close attention to the developments and maintain close communication with the Chinese side.

Negroponte said recently in a TV interview that the United States is opposed to Taiwan’s planned U.N. referendum because it is a mistake.

He also said that Washington sees the push for the U.N. seat as a step “toward a declaration of independence of Taiwan” and “toward an alteration of the status quo” concerning Taiwan and China.

Shieh Jhy-wei, spokesman of the Executive Yuan (Cabinet), said the Cabinet was relieved about the conclusion of the Bush-Hu meeting.

But he said he has not ruled out this could be “the quiet moment before a storm” because the whole affair is not over yet.

Shieh said the administration of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will continue to insist on the principle that democracy and human rights are Taiwan’s important performing stage and armory.

He revealed that Premier Chang Chun-hsiung personally chaired a meeting to closely monitor the outcome of the Bush-Hu meeting.

The Cabinet had prepared for the worst possible scenario and drafted strong-worded statement.

But the Cabinet was heavily burdened after Hu quoted Bush as saying that they did not hope to see any change in the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

Shieh said that the outcome nevertheless underlines that the U.S. believes that President Chen is pushing the U.N. bid referendum on behalf of the people.

There could be a severe backlash if it continues exercising pressure on Taiwan on the issue, Shieh asserted.

Responding about the same Bush-Hu meeting and the U.N. issue, Foreign Affairs Minister Huang Chi-fan said that Taiwan takes exactly the same position as the U.S. — both firmly oppose any change of the status quo in the region.

In fact, it was China that has been trying everyday to change of the status quo in the area, he said.

Huang specifically pointed out that Bush did make certain statements following his meeting with Hu, but he did not make any comments on the issue concerning the U.N. bid.

He said his ministry will continue monitoring the new developments.

The call of Bush and Hu to maintain the status quo shows that the push for a national referendum on joining the U.N. in the name of Taiwan by Chen and the DPP has “treaded on the red line” drawn up by the U.S., said opposition presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email