Mainland experts on Taiwan studies Friday denounced Taiwanese
leader Chen Shui-bian for clinging to his separatist stance and
stealthily promoting independence for the island.
They said the "ideologically minded and selfish'' leader is
betting on tense cross-Straits relations to serve his re-election
bid at the cost of the fundamental interests of Taiwanese
people.
The criticism was in response to Chen's fresh call for a new
"constitution'' -- a move widely believed to pave the way for
formal independence.
In a televised speech to mark the island's "Double Tenth'' day
or "national'' day, Chen said on Friday he has an obligation to
hasten the birth of a new "constitution.''
The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, the mainland's top
body in charge of cross-Straits ties, did not comment on Chen's
remarks on Friday.
But the office issued a statement on Wednesday in which it
described Chen's previous moves towards rewriting the island's
"constitution'' as "extremely immoral and very dangerous.''
Wu Nengyuan, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies under
the Fujian Provincial Academy of Social Sciences in East China,
said Chen's proposal has very much exposed his desperate attempt to
seek re-election as "president'' in March under the disguise of
pushing for democracy for the island.
"Realizing he is losing support from moderate voters, Chen has
not even bothered to hide his deep-rooted pro-independence
mentality in a bid to woo diehard separatist voters,'' the
researcher said.
"Now he is bent on creating tension across the Straits through
provoking the mainland.''
However, Wu stressed that Chen's voting ploy will bring
"confrontation and disaster'' rather than "cooperation and peace''
to the 23 million people on the island.
During his "national'' day address, Chen said the "door to
peace'' with the mainland can only open when Beijing drops the
one-China principle whereby both the mainland and Taiwan are part
of China.
The leader also attacked the island's pro-reunification
opposition parties with a view to making the March 2004 polls a
vote on the independence proposal touted by his Democratic
Progressive Party.
Professor Fan Xizhou, a researcher with the Taiwan Research
Institute in East China's Xiamen University,
said it seems that Chen has no intention of offering any goodwill
gesture or acting in good faith to improve cross-Straits ties.
"If he is preoccupied with his self-interest to undermine
cross-Straits relations, Chen will never open the door to peace and
cooperation,'' the professor said.
"In fact, Chen's conspiracy to split the motherland will lead to
the permanent closure of that door.''
(China Daily October 11, 2003)