President Chen Shui-bian met with a Danish parliamentary delegation today, extending his warm welcome on behalf of the 23 million people of Taiwan.
Chen said that he had an opportunity last April to meet with parliamentary members from five of the northern European nations during a teleconference entitled "Nordic Conference on Taiwan." The president also expressed his appreciation for Jens Hald Madsen, Chairman of the foreign policy committee in the Danish parliament, for his welcoming support for the establishment of a Danish-Taiwan friendship group within the Danish parliament.
Members of the delegation included lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Party, the opposition Danish People's Party and the Social Democratic Party, illustrating cross-party Danish support and friendship for Taiwan, said the president. Chen offered his special thanks to Karin Nodgaard of the Danish People's Party for her public speeches in the Danish parliament voicing support for Taiwan's bid for membership in the World Health Organization. Nodgaard also repeatedly called on the European Union not to lift the arms embargo against China.
Economic and trade activities between Taiwan and Denmark have improved significantly in recent years, the president said. The total amount of bilateral trade between the two countries was an estimated NT$770 million last year, with Taiwan enjoying a surplus. With a growth over 30 percent in just the past two years, bilateral trade between the Taiwanese and the Danish has continued to flourish. Last year, the Taiwan Power Company purchased a wind power generator worth NT$30 million from the Danish in order to balance a trade surplus with Denmark and to develop an alternative energy source.
President Chen is hopeful that with the Danish parliament continuing its supra-party efforts in supporting Taiwan's bid to join the WHO, Taiwan will not become a loophole in the disease prevention and medical treatment network of the global community. In addition, while peace across the Taiwan Strait is the key to stability in the Asia-Pacific region and to world peace, the president extended his gratitude toward the EU for upholding the Chinese arms embargo. He stressed that the EU selling weapons to China would not only go against the Taiwanese people, but would be tantamount to supporting an undemocratic China attacking a democratic Taiwan.
When asked about the cross-Strait issues, Chen told his Danish guests that the 23 million people on the island believe that Taiwan is a sovereign state. There is no possibility that Taiwan will accept the terms of the "one country, two systems" formula despite China's ambition of transforming the island into another Hong Kong or Macau. Taiwan insists that differences across the Strait be solved based on the principles of democracy, peace and equality. In terms of democracy, the government asks that the will of Taiwan's 23 million people be respected and heard. On the principle of peace, the government asks that non-violent means be employed in resolving differences between the two sides. And on equality, the government asks that negotiations be conducted at government-to-government levels.
The president told his Danish visitors that he regretted China's passage of the "anti-separation law" this past March, legalizing the use of non-peaceful means in resolving the cross-Strait issue. The president further reiterated that there are no other countries in the world that has a law mandating the use of non-peaceful means to attack another sovereign state. China's unprecedented move faced enormous pressure from the international society. And to alleviate this pressure, China invited Taiwan opposition leaders to visit Beijing. The move, said the president, is China's attempt to discredit the Taiwanese government along with its authority. China has relentlessly refused to recognize the government of the Republic of China and the reality that Taiwan is a sovereign nation. A majority of the people in Taiwan are aware of this united-front tactic and are in support of cross-Strait dialogue involving government-level authorities from both sides in order to guarantee maximum results.
The president also spoke of a Chinese adage, "We strive for opportunities to talk and not worry about delays," when addressing the cross-Strait policies of Taiwan. "We will employ every method in order to engage in dialogue with China, but we will not be in a hurry. We will not negotiate out of fear, and we will not give in for the sake of negotiations," he said.