I am delighted to have this opportunity to address you today via the latest Internet technology. I know that you have come to this videoconference despite the strong wind and rain. Meanwhile, I hope that you have taken the appropriate measures against the coming typhoon and that you are prepared for it. Ten years ago, as President Sloan mentionned, on October 18, 1995, I had the privilege of visiting your organization in my capacity as Mayor of Taipei, Taiwan's capital city. I delivered a speech and exchanged valuable views with you concerning regional security issues. Subsequently, in December 1997, I paid another visit to your organization again. These two meetings have helped build close and steadfast friendships between members of your association and myself.
This meeting is the first time I am meeting you in my capacity as President of Taiwan. So on behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan, I would first like to extend my highest respect and appreciation to the esteemed members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Our dialogue of ten years ago on Asia-Pacific regional security still remains vivid in my memory. Political, economic, and security developments in the Asia-Pacific region over the past decade underscore the importance of today's videoconference. It is especially apt that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Over the past 60 years, citizens of our global village have together witnessed the confrontations and then conclusion of the Cold War, the spread of the Third Wave of global democratization, the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union, the gradual formation of a new world order that has carried over into the new century, and the impact of international terrorism and potential regional crises in the new century.
History and experience clearly tell us that war is ruthless and peace is precious. Peace, democracy, and freedom are universal values of human civilization, but they do not arise out of thin air. These values usually come on the heels of crises, conflicts, and authoritarian rule. If the people of our global village cannot tolerate and respect one another, if we cannot accept fair, peaceful, and democratic negotiations as the means of settling disputes and eliminating misunderstandings, then there cannot be a secure and prosperous future for us.
When we examine current developments in the Asia-Pacific region, it is not difficult to find three potential forces posing serious challenges to peace and security in the region, and to the consolidation of democracy in Asia. The three forces are the "non-peaceful rise" of China, the Six-Party Talks process concerning the Korean Peninsula, and the future development of newly emerging democracies in Asia. Among these, the future development of China attracts particular attention.
On July 19, the US Department of Defense issued the 2005 Annual Report to Congress on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China, which clearly points out that China is facing a strategic crossroads in its gradual development into a regional power. In addition to the annual double-digit increase of its military budget, China has deployed between 650 and 730 missiles targeted at Taiwan, tipping the balance of cross-Strait military power in favor of Beijing. In mid-March this year, China unilaterally passed the so-called "Anti-Separation Law," stipulating publicly the use of "non-peaceful means" as an option in dealing with issues in the Taiwan Strait, a move that has astonished the international community and evoked worldwide condemnation.
In fact, what is most worrisome for the international community is that China has been continuously upgrading the quality and quantity of its strategic guided-missile unit, allowing it to be capable of nuclear deterrence and counterattack. China's missiles can already target India, Russia, the entire United States, and Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia and New Zealand. Recently, a general of the People's Liberation Army warned that China might use nuclear weapons against the United States in the event of a cross-Strait confrontation. This clearly exposes the danger of a possible misjudgment by the Chinese military. Moreover, Chinese military expansion has already been manifested in China's territorial disputes with India, Japan, and the Philippines.
The expansion of China's military ambition and capabilities constitutes a direct threat to democratic Taiwan and, more importantly, a potential danger to the security and peace of the Asia-Pacific region, and even of the world as a whole. On February 19, 2005, the US-Japan (the "two plus two" talks) made an unprecedented inclusion of the Taiwan Strait as an issue in their "common strategic objectives," encouraging the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait disputes through dialogue. This fully demonstrates the international community's grave concerns regarding the maintenance of permanent peace in the Taiwan Strait and the resumption of peaceful dialogue between the two sides of the Strait.
Ironically, in the absence of any external threat, Beijing is bent on expanding its armaments, increasing its missile deployment, and strengthening its capacity to project its power. Such behavior causes democratic and peace-loving nations to question the motives of Beijing's authorities.
I believe that China's lack of transparency in its decision-making processes, along with a political system that is not democratic, and a society mired by uncertainties are the main reasons that the Beijing authorities have wantonly engaged in military aggression. The so-called "rise of China" is, therefore, based on many complex factors, such as China's huge market and economic appeal, its expanding military capabilities, the potential for socio-economic turmoil, the political center's control capability, and the issue of whether political democratization can be liberalized steadily. Any single-dimensional interpretation would be nothing but a political myth.
To develop into a positive force in the global democratic community, the rise of China must be accompanied by both "peaceful emergence" and "the beginning of democracy." Taiwan's hard-won accomplishments in consolidating and deepening its democracy over recent years rightly position it to be a beacon for China's "peaceful emergence" and "democratic beginning."
Since democratization and liberalization in the 1980s, the 23 million people of Taiwan, through their love and commitment to the pursuit of democracy, have successively accomplished the lifting of martial law, repealing of the bans on new political parties and newspapers, general elections of the national legislature, direct election of the president, transfer of power between political parties, and the first-ever national referendum. These achievements, together with the constitutional re-engineering project, have made Taiwan "the most successful story" among all the emerging democracies in Asia.
Since becoming the president of Taiwan five years ago, I have focused on promoting domestic reforms; moreover, the normalization of cross-Strait relations has also been a paramount mission. To this day, Beijing leaders have been unwilling to pragmatically deal with the many olive branches I have offered. On the contrary, they attempt to divide Taiwan through the use of united front tactics to disrupt Taiwan's solidarity. This, however, will not undermine my resolve to pursue "good-willed reconciliation, active cooperation, and permanent peace across the Taiwan Strait."
Despite China's military intimidation and missile threats, Taiwan's government under my leadership will continue to actively seek to establish a new balance of power that supports Taiwan's democracy and cross-Strait peace.
There are three objectives for establishing this new balance of power in the Taiwan Strait. The first is to ensure that the democracy of Taiwan—a core member of the world's community of democracies—is not threatened or destroyed by China through non-peaceful means. The second is to join with other members of the global "community of democracies" in assisting non-democratic nations, such as China, to develop democracy. The third is to explore ways to normalize relations and resume dialogue with China under a peace and stability framework for cross-Strait interaction, thereby promoting stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Distinguished friends, let us consider the following: should China collapse, no single nation would wish to bear the brunt of the global shockwaves that would ensue. By the same token, no single nation would accept the uncertainties to regional security and stability posed by China's threat or China's non-peaceful rise. The Chinese government has already declared the theme for the 2008 Beijing Olympics to be "One World, One Dream." We look forward to the day when China will join the international "democratic community" to pursue together "a world of peace" and to realize "the dream for freedom."
Taiwan is willing to play a constructive and supportive role in the international efforts to integrate China into the global system that enforces international norms and standards for peace. While Taiwan's democratic achievements—the hard-won fruits of labor of the 23 million people of Taiwan—face the intimidation of China's "undemocratic and non-peaceful" threats, we hope the voice of justice and support from the international community would stand behind us.
In closing, I would like to once again express my heartfelt appreciation to President Sloan and all our friends from the media. I hope in the near future I can pay yet another visit to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Now, you are welcome to offer your suggestions and make your comments.
Thank you.
Q1. My name is Henry Scott-Stokes. I am a freelance journalist here, working with Economist.com, the website of the Economist. My question has to do with the economy. In Taiwan and on the mainland, I believe that there are one million Taiwanese working on the mainland today. They have invested, those hardworking people, tens of billions of dollars in the mainland. To those people, it must seem that China has a tremendous future. That's why they've put their lives there. What do you have to say to those people who are making such a big effort on the mainland? Thank you.
A. Taiwan is not an isolated island. It is part of the world. External trade is important for Taiwan's survival. Therefore, we will not separate ourselves from the international community or from the vast Chinese market. Of course, Taiwan and China are in close geographic proximity with only the Taiwan Strait between us. We share a similar culture and heritage. Therefore, Taiwanese businesspeople have good opportunities to invest in China, and we take this seriously. For Taiwan, however, China is not a normal country. It is a hostile one that intends to invade and annex our country. China is neither a free open-market economy nor under the rule of law.
Therefore, our cross-strait economic policy is clear: to richly cultivate Taiwan while reaching out to the world. While the China market is one link in the global market, it is neither the only link nor the aggregate of the links. In the past, Taiwan's economic policy toward China was "no haste, be patient." Now we have replaced that with a new policy of "proactive liberalization, with effective management." In other words, only under the condition of effective management will we consider to actively open up to China.
I have emphasized that, as long as our roots are in Taiwan, our headquarters and our bases are in Taiwan, the China market, like the rest of the world, can provide ample opportunities. At the same time, we must remind Taiwanese businessmen of the potential political risks in investing in China and expanding economic relations. I hope that our Taiwanese businessmen can understand and appreciate why they are respected so much in China. It is because they have Taiwan as their motherland supporting them. Without Taiwan, there would be no Taiwanese businessmen. Therefore, we must allow Taiwan, our motherland, to continue to grow, progress, and prosper. For this reason, we call on Taiwanese businesspeople to work with the government on four priorities: Taiwan first, economy first, investment first, and investment in Taiwan first.
Q2. Sir, I am Anthony Rowley from the Singapore Business Times. Your interpreter said,"should China collapse." I would like to ask you what you think are the potential factors—economic, political, and others—that could possibly cause, if not a collapse, then at least serious problems, in China's ongoing modernization process. Thank you.
A. All of you are clearer than I as to whether China will collapse. In the past, when we looked at the Berlin Wall, few of us expected that it would fall, just as few of us expected that the Soviet Union would collapse. Of course, we have also seen many people make a lot of predictions on whether China will collapse. But in terms of Taiwan's position, I must clearly say, as I just did in my opening speech, that we do not want to see the whole world's stability upset by China's collapse. Such a scenario would not be good for Taiwan. So many Taiwanese businesspeople have invested and built factories in China. There is so much trade with China. Many Taiwanese businesspeople and their families are living in China. Were China to collapse, what would happen to them? I have just mentioned the Chinese authorities' lack of transparency in decision-making, their lack of political democracy, and lack of social stability. Were China to collapse, these would all be problems, and Taiwan would be the first to suffer. So the first impact from China's collapse could be that it might try to divert attention, perhaps by using military force to invade Taiwan on grounds of nationalism. Therefore, China's collapse would not have a positive influence on economic development in Taiwan. We would be happy to see the rise of China, but as I just emphasized, the rise of China should be accompanied by peaceful emergence and the beginning of democracy. We expect that the rise of China should bring an opportunity, and not threats, to the people of the world.
Q3. My name is Xiao Xinli; I am a reporter for the Japanese branch office of The Epoch Times. You just mentioned that China's recent military trends and the statement about the possibility of resorting to nuclear attacks pose threats to the Asia-Pacific region. You also mentioned the possibility of China's collapse, and emphasized the importance of China's peaceful emergence during the process of disintegration. My question is about the possibility of China's peaceful emergence. This year The Epoch Times published a series of editorials entitled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party." The greatest influence of the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" editorial series has been that many people throughout the world, including in China, have announced that they are leaving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Recently a mass rally was held in Washington to celebrate three million people's public withdrawal from the CCP. Some people have said that the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" and this wave of quitting the CCP are the best ways to peacefully resolve the question of the collapse of the Chinese communist system. I would like to ask your opinion about the possibility of the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" bringing peace to China and to the world. Thank you.
A. I have noticed and heard about these "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," and I do expect that there are many different perspectives in the debate on China's future. For example, there are different predictions as to China's rise or possible collapse. What I do care about, however, is what the 1.3 billion people of China think: Do they think the same way as the leaders in the Zhong Nan Hai complex in Beijing? Do the vast majority of people share the same attitude towards Taiwan as the small leadership elite of Beijing? Since China's opening up, Taiwanese businesspeople have made great contributions to China's economic prosperity. I believe these contributions have to be recognized. And I hope the Chinese people will question why, in China, the freedoms of press, speech and religion are problems, and why they are not problems in Taiwan? Recently, two of Taiwan's opposition leaders, Messrs. Lien Chan and James Soong, visited China and delivered public speeches, which impressed the Chinese people. Some people might ask: If two people who have lost two elections in Taiwan are so impressive in China, how would it be to have the winner of the two elections, Chen Shui-bian, visit China and give a speech? Furthermore, in Taiwan, there are democratic elections, in which the nation's leaders are elected by the votes of the people; is this possible in China? In Taiwan, transfer of executive power between political parties can be made peacefully; will this be possible soon in China?
In China, the party represents the government and can stand above the government. In Taiwan, however, a political party is a non-governmental organization, and cannot replace the authority of the government. But, in China, the Chinese Communist Party is the government, and is representative of government authority. This scenario is impossible for us to imagine.
Taiwan is small, but we are proud of being Taiwanese. The freedom and democracy in Taiwan can serve as great examples for the 1.3 billion people of China.
Despite the hostility of a small number of Beijing's Zhong Nan Hai leadership toward Taiwan, we do not believe that China's 1.3 billion people feel enmity toward Taiwan. We hope that the Chinese people can influence President Hu Jintao and the leadership elite of Zhong Nan Hai. We maintain our belief that President Hu and the leadership elite are not representative of China's 1.3 billion people.
Q4. My name is Kathleen Chu, and I'm with Bloomberg News. Mr. President, you have repeatedly expressed your willingness to meet President Hu Jintao. Has Taiwan's government engaged in discussions about this? What topic would you most like to discuss with President Hu?
A. In reopening dialogue across the Taiwan Strait, we want to achieve goodwill reconciliation, active cooperation, and permanent peace. We hope that, under the principles of democracy, parity, and peace, this process will lead to completion of the normalization of cross-strait relations. The focus of emphasis is not on the leaders on each side of the strait, or on the ideas of Chen Shui-bian and Hu Jintao; rather, it is on the importance attached to the recommencement of cross-strait governmental negotiations. I do not think it is so important that the leaders on both sides of the strait, President Hu Jintao and myself, meet in person. What is more important is that we can reopen government-to-government negotiations.
For example, in April and May, Taiwan's opposition leaders, Kuomintang chairman Mr. Lien Chan and People First Party chairman Mr. James Soong, visited China and met with President Hu Jintao. And they reached consensus on a number of points. No matter whether five, six, or ten points of agreement were reached, only one point is important, that is, the Chinese leadership must engage in dialogue directly with the government of Taiwan. Issues such as the import of agricultural produce from Taiwan to China, direct cross-strait charter cargo flights, and Chinese tourism to Taiwan all require government authorization.
These issues involve customs, quarantine, inspections, and so forth, which all need government authorization, and cannot be accomplished without the government. Without government authorization, no political party or private organization, including farmers' associations, can take the place of the government.
We have also noticed, with appreciation, that on May 6, President Bush of the United States called President Hu of China and urged the Chinese to engage in dialogue with the democratically elected government and president of Taiwan. On July 10, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a meeting with China's president and foreign minister in Beijing, also delivered the same message that the Chinese must deal directly with the democratically elected government and president of Taiwan. It is clear to us now, however, that President Hu does not truly want to engage in dialogue with Taiwan's government. President Hu has carried out talks with the opposition leaders of Taiwan not with the purpose of commencing cross-strait negotiations but rather to apply divisive tactics in an attempt to split Taiwanese society.
The APEC leadership summit to be held in Pushan, Korea this November will provide the best platform for interaction. If China does not create obstacles, I think we will have the chance to meet naturally on such an international occasion. Given that China definitely lacks sincerity, however, and so does President Hu Jintao, it is hard to see this hope coming to fruition. Nevertheless, we will not give up any possibility. We will continue to work towards this goal. As a Chinese saying holds, we will strive for opportunities to talk and not worry about delays.
Q5. President Chen, my name is Martyn Williams, from IDG. I would like to go back to the first question about economic relationship between Taiwan and China. At the moment, some of your country's biggest companies, semi-conductor and panel makers, face government restrictions on the investments they can make in mainland China. So as a part of this "active openness and effective management" policy you are talking about, what plan do you have to ease these restrictions, and over what time frame?
A. Taiwan is a sovereign independent country. As either the nation's leader or one member of Taiwan's 23 million citizens, I must first take good care of our country and protect Taiwan's sovereignty. In particular, as Taiwan's leader, my obligation, responsibility, and mission are to safeguard the sovereignty, dignity, and security of our country so as to ensure the best well-being of our people.
Economic security is a very important element of comprehensive national security. Without economic security, there can be no national security. As I mentioned earlier, without Taiwan, there can be no Taiwanese businesspeople; therefore, when Taiwanese businesspeople invest, set up factories, and do business in China, they still have Taiwan in their hearts. Doing business today does not simply mean that you can conduct any kind of business whatsoever. Looking at other countries in the world, they also do not export everything to China in an unrestricted and unlimited way. If we are allowed to put business interests above everything, then why did EU nations implement an arms embargo against China in the first place and why did the proposal to lift the embargo against China attract so much attention from the international community? Deeply concerned, the US and Japan, realizing that this is not an opportune time, have taken a position opposed to lifting the arms embargo, and consequently the EU has put off its proposal to lift the arms embargo against China.
For Taiwan, some items of trade are unrestricted but, in other areas, we must be cautious and effectively manage the process. Certain areas may not involve such highly sensitive technology. We also have our own timetable and our own priorities in opening up, however, and will not open up fully without restrictions. In areas of highly sensitive technology, we are currently working on creating protection through the legislative process in Taiwan. In other words, we are not moving recklessly westward or opening up to China unconditionally. We do so with effective management. Without effective management, we would rather not continue opening up.
Q6. Takashi Koyama; freelance journalist. Sir, you mentioned there were about 700 Chinese missiles aimed toward your country. How are you going to protect your country against these missiles?
A. Currently, as far as we know, there are at least 706 strategically guided missiles deployed within a radius of 300 to 600 kilometers across the Taiwan Strait. And the numbers are growing at an average of 100 missiles per year. I believe that many of you will have seen a movie called "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the United States was under threat from two missiles for 13 days and from which panic ensued. In Taiwan, however, this is the daily reality that we face. If someone were targeting over 700 missiles at your country, wouldn't your people feel anything about it or would they be indifferent? We are not speaking of just tactical missiles. There are also mid-range, long-range, and intercontinental missiles, about which, I believe, you know better than I do. These tactical missiles are targeted not only at Taiwan but at other countries and regions too. If everyone did not feel so threatened by China's military expansion and missile deployment, I doubt whether the United States and Japan would be so actively developing the theater missile defense system. This is why I say that, for Taiwan, China is not a normal country. It is hostile toward Taiwan and intends to swallow up or annex Taiwan at any time. That is why, for cross-strait trade, we must take "effective management" more seriously than "proactive liberalization."
Taiwan has neither the power nor the opportunity to demand that China dismantle its missiles, which would be meaningless, in any case. We must be on constant alert, however, and be aware of who our enemy is. We hope that the world, while pursuing such universal values as democracy, freedom, human rights, and peace, will not adopt a double standard. For example, in the Korean Peninsula, the nuclear threat from North Korea has caught the world's attention, which has led to the Six-Party Talks. When it comes to China's military threat, however, the world just turns a blind eye or, as with the minority of European Union countries, even proposes lifting the arms embargo on China. I think this very much indicates a double standard. Thanks to the US Department of Defense's 2005 annual report on the PRC's military power, the world has come to understand China's military expansion, increasing defense budget, and various potential threats from its military deployment. The report drew much attention from the international community. We still hope that the Olympic theme "One World, One Dream" can become "One World of Peace, One Dream of Freedom." We also hope that China will conform to the Olympic theme and not consider the Olympics to be one thing, and its military expansion and intimidation to be another.
Q7. Thank you. My name is Khaldon Azhari of the Jordan News Agency and the CNBC of Arabia TV. I would like to move to West Asia, where there is a very good democracy building in Iraq. The world is much safer now because Iraq is no longer a threat to other countries with its nuclear arsenal. Therefore, this world feels much much safer and secure. What is Taiwan's position on the Iraqi war? You are concerned so much about the democracy and missile and nuclear threats in East Asia. Do you think that the Iraqi example serves well to solve such problems? Thank you.
A. Democracy is the best TMD. We hope the 23 million people of Taiwan can enjoy the universal values and basic principles of democracy, freedom, human rights, and peace. We also hope that the 1.3 billion people of China can enjoy them. The people of Iraq should not be deprived of or restricted from the same universal values of democracy, human rights, freedom, and peace. In fact, we greatly welcome and are delighted to see that the people of Iraq now have democratic elections. This, however, is only the beginning. This year happens to be the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. We hope that the world can be free of war and violence. The government and the 23 million people of Taiwan that I represent care greatly about the situation in Iraq. Our sympathies go to the Iraqi people. We love peace, condemn war, and must join forces with the international community to suppress terrorism. Once again, on behalf of the 23 million people of Taiwan, I would like to offer my congratulations to and celebrate with the Iraqi people the beginning of democracy there. I hope that one day Iraq can be free of war and violence. I certainly hope that in the future we will not open our newspapers every day and see violent attacks by terrorists in Iraq. Blessed be Taiwan and Iraq!
Q8. My name is Regis Arnaud from Le Figaro. Mr. President, God forbid, but if tomorrow there were a conflict between China and Taiwan, where do you think Japan would stand? In other words, is Japan a reliable defense partner? Please answer by yes or no. Thank you.
A. Taiwan is Japan's best friend, and we are sure that Japan is also Taiwan's best partner. Taiwan and Japan are each other's best ally in terms of values, economics, democracy, and security. We deeply appreciate the Japanese government's firm support and even vote of approval for Taiwan's participation as an observer in the World Health Assembly. We are also grateful to the Japanese government for providing Taiwanese tourists visa-free status during the Aichi Expo. It is our hope that this preferential visa exemption measure can be normalized. We are thankful for the inclusion of the Taiwan issue as a common strategic objective of both the US and Japan in the "two plus two" US-Japan security dialogue this February 19, and for the encouragement of peaceful dialogue in resolving the differences across the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, Japan expressed concern over China's passage of the so-called "Anti-Separation Law" and opposed Europe's possible lifting of the arms embargo on China. On these issues, it will stand forever on the same side as the US government. I am confident that these are in the interests of the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.
Taiwan and Japan are not without differences, however. Within three days, the 15th round of negotiations over fishing disputes will begin. I hope that we can resolve some differences through negotiations. We have had 14 rounds of negotiations over fishing disputes, and will be engaging in the 15th round soon. This demonstrates how complicated the situation is. Although we may not be able to resolve the disputes completely satisfactorily in the short run, the negotiations are important, as they involve not only fishing rights, but also sovereignty. The talks are very complex, sensitive, and difficult. Of course, I hope that we can produce positive outcome from the meeting that begins on the 29th. Even if we are not able to reach a consensus then, there will always be one or more chances in the future to continue this dialogue. We hope that the fishing disputes do not cause unnecessary tensions between the peoples of our two countries.
In closing, I want to call on the Japanese people: the less you fear China, the more respect you will get from China. I hope that our two peoples will continue to cooperate hand-in-hand. Thank you.