Taipei, April 14 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Monday the Republic of China is a sovereign state independent of the People's Republic of China and looks forward to settling international disputes, including its relations with the PRC, by peaceful means.
Chen made the remarks while meeting with Shigeru Oda, a former judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) -- the judicial organ of the United Nations. "As an independent sovereign state, the ROC is not subordinate to the PRC," Chen told his guest. "The 23 million people of Taiwan love freedom, democracy and peace. We also respect human rights. However, we cannot enjoy this due recognition and dignity in the international community simply because of Beijing's suppression."
Stressing that Taiwan yearns for peace, Chen said the ROC government has always pitched for handling international affairs in a peaceful manner. "It has been our established policy to deal with relations across the Taiwan Strait by peaceful means," he added.
Chen went on to say that some local people are promoting a "call Taiwan, Taiwan" movement. "The campaign mainly stems from Taiwan's exclusion from many important international organizations and the international community's refusal to recognize its sovereign status," he explained.
After more than a decade of strenuous efforts, Chen said, Taiwan has finally joined the ranks of the World Trade Organization. "We are now seeking to join the World Health Organization as an observer and we also hope to be admitted to the United Nations some day."
Oda spent his formative years in Taiwan. His maternal grandfather once headed Taipei's only medical college for 30 years during Japanese colonial rule of the island and his father was the first president of the precursor of National Taiwan University Hospital.
Oda told President Chen that he made friends with many Taiwan people during his 10-year stay in Taiwan and has a special affection for the island. While studying at Yale University, Oda said he had held extensive discussions with classmates from Taiwan on the island's status issues. During his tenure as a U.N. legal adviser, Oda once presented certain data under the name of Taiwan. The U.N. Secretariat corrected Oda's report based on its "one China" stance. In the process, Oda said he had discussed Taiwan's status issue with U.N. authorities.
After terminating his service as an ICJ judge, Oda said, he plans to further explore issues regarding Taiwan's status in international law. "I hope I can come up with more comprehensive perspectives," he added.
In response, Chen said he is hopeful that Oda can become one of Taiwan's important advisers in the field of international law.