Taiwan Approves Referendum Bill Despite China
November 27, 2003
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:57 a.m. ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan's parliament approved a
watershed bill Thursday allowing its people to vote on
sovereignty and other issues. But it risks the wrath of
China, which has vowed to attack the island if it declares
independence.
The complex referendum bill was passed in a parliament
session that stretched late into the night Thursday. It has
to be signed into law by pro-independence President Chen
Shui-bian, a step seen as a formality.
China's state media said Chen was courting disaster for the
island. A Chinese general spoke last week of possible war,
and in the run-up to 1996 presidential elections, China
threatened the island with war games.
Passing the bill is a mixed victory for the president, as
it includes constraints from the opposition parties who
together have a slim majority in parliament.
It is also a slap in the face to China ahead of Taiwan's
presidential elections next March, when the issue of
sovereignty is likely to take center stage.
Analysts and diplomats expect angry statements from China
in coming days, but said the compromise bill -- which
watered down some of the pro-independence camp's more
strident demands -- reduced the risk of military
retaliation from Beijing.
One Western diplomat in Beijing also pointed to the
forthcoming trip to the United States by China's Premier
Wen Jiabao as one reason for a measured Chinese response.
``Strong statements, yes, but with one eye on the U.S. I'm
not sure that they will go beyond what we've seen so far,''
the diplomat said. ``My sense is that prior to the visit by
Wen Jiabao to Washington, I think we're going to get
strident statements, yes, but nothing more yet.''
CAMPAIGN FOR REFERENDUM LAW
Anti-independence opposition
parties and pro-independence activists, who have campaigned
for 10 years for a referendum law, haggled for hours over
many of the bill's 56 clauses before it was approved.
Analysts said Beijing could take comfort from the fact that
the most controversial part of the bill -- a clause
explicitly saying referendums can be held on independence,
on changing the island's name or flag -- was dropped.
Instead, the bill has a clause that says a ``defensive
referendum'' on Taiwanese sovereignty is permitted in the
event of an attack from China, and another more ambiguous
article that allows referendums to approve changes to the
constitution.
``Maybe they will still want to show their discontent or
unhappiness, and still criticize a little, but it shouldn't
be out of control,'' said George Tsai of Taiwan's National
Chengchi University, referring to China.
Beijing, which views the island as a renegade province,
lashed out at the concept of a new constitution.
``The referendum plan on a 'new constitution' will not be
tolerated by the Chinese people, including the compatriots
in Taiwan,'' the official Xinhua news agency quoted an
article due to run Friday in a key Communist Party
newspaper as saying.
The bill's clauses range from the mundane, such as
technical matters on holding a referendum, to issues that
can be voted on.
The anti-independence opposition Nationalist and People
First parties, who together hold 112 of parliament's 223
seats, claimed success in pushing through a clause that
requires a committee to be set up to approve referendums on
constitutional issues.
EACH PARTY REPRESENTED
The legislative committee will have representation from
each party reflecting the ratio of parliamentary seats, and
the opposition is unlikely to approve issues Beijing
considers as steps toward independence, such as changing
the island's name from the Republic China.
``The referendum bill will make all sides happy. It allows
Taiwan people to directly exercise their rights. It's
acceptable to international society and it will not provoke
China,'' said Nationalist lawmaker Yao Eng-chi.
While the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which holds
88 seats, the most for any single party, had pushed hard
for a referendum bill, it was disappointed by the
restrictions imposed by the opposition.
``We have a defensive clause that can be used to
demonstrate our sovereignty in the event of foreign
threat,'' acknowledged DPP lawmaker Wang Tuoh.
Chen has enraged China by aggressively asserting his island
is a separate country -- making that and a referendum on a
new constitution the key pillars of his campaign for
re-election on March 20, 2004.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-taiwan-china-referendum.html?ex=1070975200&ei=1&en=613052f93c9f7502
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