President Lee Teng-hui stressed today that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and that the "one China" trumpeted by Peking is virtually non-existent today. What the ROC has pursued is a China unified under freedom, democracy and equitable distribution of wealth, and only if Peking changes its system to narrow the gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, will there be possibility for unification, he said.
The President made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of columnists and journalists from Central and South Americas. Ding Mou-shih, Senior Advisor to the President, and Lin Bih-jaw, Deputy Secretary-General to the President, were also present.
President Lee pointed out that the ROC National Unification Council has been established for the future national unification under freedom, democracy and equitable distribution of wealth. Not until then, will there be "one China," he maintained.
Mainland China has long trumpeted its principle of "one China," claiming that "Taiwan is a local government, while Peking is the central government." President Lee said that the ROC can never accept this interpretation. Currently, the two sides of the Strait represent two equal political entities. Through implementing political and economic reforms and assimilating the essence of western culture, the ROC has already developed a new Chinese culture, he added.
On the Taiwan Strait issue, the President said that at present, there are 300 to 400 vessels of different nationalities sailing through the Strait per day, and that it is the ROC*s hope to maintain peace and stability in this water passage. The Strait has become an international "public asset," and therefore should not be dominated by any individual country, he added.
On Peking's refusal to renounce the use of military force against Taiwan, the President indicated that democracy and freedom are the most effective weapons. The missile tests conducted by Peking during the ROC's presidential election in 1996 already proved that the hegemonic and belligerent approach is unwise and doomed to fail, he elaborated.
Regarding the ROC's national development into the 21st century, President said that the ROC will promote the development of high-technology industries, such as electronics and biochemistry, and will reinforce its democracy through judicial, educational and spiritual reforms.
On the ROC-Latin American relations, President Lee said that Taiwan imports more from than exports to Latin America, and therefore is an important market for many Latin American economies. Having adopted a policy of pragmatic diplomacy, the ROC is very willing to develop economic and trade relations with Latin American countries, regardless of whether or not they have formal diplomatic ties with the ROC, in order to pursue mutual benefit and prosperity.
The delegation members include: Liborio Garcia-Correa from Panama, Manuel Antonio Quiroz Cepeda from the Dominican Republic, Shirley Saborio from Costa Rica, Carolina Vasquez Araya from Guatemala, Roque Gonzales Benitez from Paraguay, Mario Mairena Martinez from Nicaragua, Guillermo Pagan Solorzano from Honduras, Rafael Montalvo from El Salvador, Narciso Binayan Carmona from Argentina, Claudio Betsalel from Chile, Luis Popa Casasaya and Ana Maria Alejandra Espinoza from Peru, Maauro Zafalon from Brazil, and Armando Luis Moreno from Venezuela.