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Taiwanese President to Hold Referendum on Chinese Ballistic Missiles
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has decided to hold a referendum March 20 on whether Taiwan should demand that China remove hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting the island, a Taiwanese presidential spokesman said Saturday (see GSN, Dec. 1). “The missile issue will be on the referendum. That’s for sure,” Chen spokesman James Huang said. Chen has also said, however, that he would considering calling off the symbolic referendum if China redeployed its missiles away from Taiwan and renounced the use of force against the island. Some of Chen’s opponents in the presidential election, also scheduled for March 20, have said that the referendum could provoke Beijing. “The missiles deployed by the Chinese communists pose a serious threat, but they don’t put Taiwan’s sovereignty and the status quo in immediate danger,” said opposition candidate Lien Chan (William Foreman, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 6). Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said that Chen was using the referendum as a “cover” for Taiwanese independence, which Beijing opposes. “The Chinese government also understands the aspiration of people in Taiwan for democracy,” Wen said. “However, the essence of the problem now is that the separatist forces within the Taiwan authorities attempt to use democracy only as a cover to split Taiwan away from China and this is what we will never tolerate,” he said. China hopes to peacefully resolve its dispute with Taiwan, Wen said. “So long as there is still a glimmer of hope,” he said, “the Chinese government will not give up its efforts for peaceful reunification and for a peaceful settlement of the question” (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 8).
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