Association voices opposition to planned United Nations referendum

Protesters said the government should abide by the law instead of claiming it is seeking a referendum on Taiwan’s participation in the U.N. in the public’s interest. They pointed to the contradiction that the U.N. General Assembly is due to open on Sept. 18, while the planned referendum will only be held during the next presidential election in March 2008.

“The DPP is playing with words in order to change the name of the country,” said Wu Jun-yang, convener of the protest and chairman of the Labor Party. “We have to expose the government’s tricks because the situation is very serious.”

U.S. officials have already expressed that they opposed Taiwan’s planned referendum.

On Aug. 27, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said that Washington opposes the referendum because it is a step toward a declaration of independence.

Then on Aug. 30, National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Dennis Wilder said that “Taiwan, or the Republic of China, is not at this point a state in the international community.”

It is expected that U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet today during preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in Sydney, Australia and make unfavorable comments on Taiwan’s participation in the U.N.

“We believe that if Taiwan doesn’t cross the red-line on the independence issue, it is possible to deal peacefully with China,” said Wu.

At around 10:45 a.m., just before police lifted a warning sign for the third time, the protesters dispersed peacefully.

The DPP did not make any official comments on the event. An employee at the party office’s front desk just said that in a democracy like Taiwan, everybody has to respect each other’s right to oppose or support the planned U.N. referendum.

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