Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu said Monday that she will launch a "save Taiwan with peace" campaign to remind the world of mainland China's missile threat to Taiwan.
Lu made the remarks at the inauguration of a new association of the victims of the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident and their families, as well as defense lawyers of the eight key defendants in the trial resulting from the incident.
Lu said mainland China has deployed nearly 500 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan's major political and military installations and that the number of mainland missiles pointed at Taiwan will have increased to 650 by 2005.
Describing these missiles as "weapons of mass destruction, " Lu said Taiwan is entitled to hold a referendum to remind the world of the mainland's "terrorist threat" to its national security.
While all major countries around the world support the U.S.-led war on terrorism, Lu said, the international community should not ignore or tolerate what she called the mainland's "terrorist-style missile threat" to Taiwan.
Lu further noted that the United Nations passed a declaration in 1984 that recognizes people's right to peace and requires all countries to promote this right.
Against this backdrop, Lu said, the international community should support President Chen Shui-bian's plan to call a referendum to coincide with the March 20 presidential election to offer a venue for the Taiwan people to express their feelings about Beijing's missile threat.
Lu said she will launch a series of activities to seek international support for Taiwan's referendum plan, including sending "peace envoys" to the United Nations and other major international organizations to explain Taiwan's cause. "We should let the world understand that our referendum plan is aimed at saving Taiwan, China and the entire world from war, " Lu said.