For Whom the Bell May Toll in 2008?
A Letter to U.S. Congress


Download the letter (pdf file).

United State Congress
Washington, D.C. 20510

March 14, 2007


Dear Honorable Senator/House Representative,                                                           

As the Chinese New Year starts with full vigor and bright expectation, 
we are writing to draw your attention to some worrisome aspects of the 
Taiwan Strait situation. 

You may already know that lately the struggle across the Taiwan Strait 
has been burgeoning again due to President Chen Shui-bian’s persistent 
and provocative Taiwan independence advocacy. Alarmed by a foreseeable 
cross-strait military showdown in 2008, we plead your honor to promptly 
and resolutely act to rein in Chen’s dangerous “fire playing.” Here is 
a quick review of his recent provocations: 

Fire Playing:  
1) On January 1, 2007, Chen’s New Year message proclaimed that “Taiwan 
is a part of the world, not China.” This seriously violated the 
One-China Principle recognized by the world community. China slammed 
his remarks and warned the U.S. that 2007 would be the most dangerous 
year for keeping the cross-strait peace and stability. We regret that 
after Chen’s declaration, the U.S. still granted him a transit stay 
in San Francisco and Los Angeles in January en route to Nicaragua.

2) On February 2, 2007, Chen said that Taiwan should “act now” to draw 
up a new constitution, otherwise it “cannot be called a normal, complete 
and progressive new democracy.”  U.S. State Department’s No 2 official 
John Negroponte said that there is a “distinct possibility” that such 
a proposed new charter would be at “cross purposes” with America’s 
one-China policy.

3) On February 8, 2007, Chen waged a new wave of “de-sinicizing” moves 
for all state-run firms on Taiwan by replacing China by Taiwan in their 
titles. While 55% of the Taiwanese people did not support this move, 
only 21% showed approval; 64% thought it would incur huge social cost. 
On February 9, 2007, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack 
rebuked Chen’s move saying that Chen’s act was “unhelpful,” and “the 
United States does not, for instance, support changes in terminology 
for entities administered by Taiwan authorities,” or any administrative
measure to unilaterally change Taiwan’s status quo towards Taiwan 
independence. But he avoided answering the question whether Chen’s 
action altered the status quo unilaterally. The low-keyed U.S. response
 encouraged the Chen entourage to take it as a “red light” turning into 
a “blinking yellow light,” meaning “do not support, but give tacit 
approval,” similar to the U.S. past stance on Taiwan independence of 
“do not support, but this does not mean ‘oppose.’”

4) On March 4, 2007, Chen made a new pledge of “Four Wants and One 
Without,” to participants at the Formosan Association for Public Affairs’
 (FAPA) 25th anniversary dinner, which broke the “Four Noes and One 
Without” promise in his inaugural speech on May 20, 2000. Taiwan’s stock
 market dropped precipitously the next day. His pledge infringed upon 
America’s national interest, as pointed out by a series of politicians 
and scholars like J. Warner (Rep, Vir), Jeffrey A. Bader (Brookings 
Institution) and Bonnie Glaser (Center for Strategic and International 
Studies). Earlier on February 28, 2006, Chen already announced that the
 National Unification Council (NUC) “ceased to function” and the National 
Unification Guidelines (NUG) “ceased to apply,” as a symbol of abolishing 
the aim of reunification with the mainland of China. 

Then: Four Noes and One Without Now: Four Wants and One Without
1. Taiwan will not declare independence 1. Taiwan wants independence
2. Taiwan will not hold referendums on Taiwan’s
nationhood
2. Taiwan wants a new constitution

3. Taiwan will not change its national
title
3. Taiwan wants to rectify its title

4. Taiwan will not enshrine “state-to-
state” relations with China in the
Constitution
4. Taiwan wants development

5. Taiwan will not abolish the NUC and
the NUG

5. There is no left-right political axis
in Taiwan, just the question of
independence or unification
A Man with No Integrity and No Political Merit: Taiwan’s recent TVBS survey showed that more than 50% of the Taiwanese people did not support Taiwan independence and 56% worried about the cross-strait tension. Also, with Chen Shui-bian’s reputation as Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for his corrupt government and a “trouble maker generally acknowledged by the international community,” only 16% were satisfied with his performance. Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) warned that Chen’s move is a step-by-step de jure independence. If he succeeds in stirring a military clash with China and drags America into war, he could call off the 2008 presidential election and declare himself to be the first President of the Republic of Taiwan. But what will be the fate of the Taiwanese people? Will his son and daughter be willing to fight for the war of Taiwan’s independence? Will the Fire Be Put Off? In terms of curtailing Taiwan independence, the U.S. Government so far only made a few mild verbal rebukes to Chen. We are also disturbed and disappointed by the proposed legislation H.Cong Res 73 by Rep. Thomas Tancredo and others, “[e]xpressing the sense of Congress that the United States should resume normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan (the Republic of China), and for other purposes.” The U.S. Government recently approved a US$421 million sale of Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air missiles and Maverick missiles to Taiwan to back Chen’s government. These weapons will enable Taiwan to launch attacks reaching as far as China’s Yangtze River Three Gorges Dam. The U.S. is also making active war preparations by shifting major military force to the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, Beijing’s sudden willingness to showcase its sophisticated weaponry may be a belief that only a credible military threat can deter Taiwan’s independence movement. For Whom the Bell May Toll? Ernest Hemingway published in 1941 For Whom The Bell Tolls, a best seller, in which he described his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, into which many other European countries were also dragged by taking sides. Will a similar military conflict take place between Taiwan and China, which would include the active participation of the U.S. and surrounding nations for the discredited Chen Shui-bian? If it were to happen, Taiwan would naturally suffer the first and heaviest blow and the Chinese and the Americans could become enemies for generations to come. So, if we do not resolutely stop Taiwan independence now, but wait until more silver-haired American parents greet their sons and daughters’ cold bodies inside flown-back coffins, we would be regretful and shameful to see American dreams broken and the American national interest diminished. Dear Sir, we respect your wisdom and wish you understand and share similar thoughts with us. We look forward to hearing from you and having the opportunity to meet with you. With best regards, Yonggao Wang Executive President of Chinese American Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification in USA Tel no: 312-286-1063 Fax no: 312-275-7853 caacpr@comcast.net Sheng-Wei Wang President China-US Friendship Exchange, Inc. curra888@yahoo.com Zhonying Zhao President Chinese American Tribune zhongzhao@sbcglobal.net Isolde W. Chen Acting President Global Chinese Alliance for the Unification of China isoldechen@yahoo.com Tony Zheng President Pennsylvania Chinese American Association for China’s Peaceful Reunification sixinliang49@yahoo.com Pius Hsu President of the Alliance for Peaceful National Reunification of China piushsu@yahoo.com Hunter Huang President The National Association for China's Peaceful Unification nacpu@yahoo.com

Download the letter (pdf file).

Copyright(c) 2005, National Association for China's Peaceful Unification, Washington D.C., USA. All rights reserved.