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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Taiwan authorities get hitting in the US

On the morning of November 2, local time of the eastern part of the United States, Chen Shui-bian ended his "transit" to New York in his visit to Panama. While in New York, he suffered a string of blows. At 1:00 p.m. on October 31, Chen Shui-bian arrived in New York. At 6:30 p.m. that day, more than 3,000 people, namely Chinese students and overseas Chinese from five states in the eastern part of the US held protest activities in front of the hotel where Chen stayed.


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3,000 people protest against Taiwan authorities
On the morning of November 2, local time of the eastern part of the United States, Chen Shui-bian ended his "transit" to New York in his visit to Panama. While in New York, he suffered a string of blows. At 1:00 p.m. on October 31, Chen Shui-bian arrived in New York. At 6:30 p.m. that day, more than 3,000 people, namely Chinese students and overseas Chinese from five states in the eastern part of the USA held protest activities in front of the hotel where Chen stayed.

These people held high the Five-Starred Red Flags and shouted slogans in Chinese and English: "Long Live China", "Taiwan Belongs to China", "Down with 'Taiwan independence'" and "Down with Traitors and Collaborators" A Chinese worker excitedly said to an American bystander, "Taiwan belongs to China". After nightfall, several hundred more protesters, holding 10 large Five-Starred Red Flags, spontaneously came to the place outside the venue where Chen Shui-bian was going to deliver a speech, and lodge protests against this, the protest activities continued into the deep of night.

The large-scale protest activities were initiated by 150-odd organizations, including the Federation of Chinese organizations in New York and the New York Council for the promotion of the reunification of China. Chairman Liang Kuan-chun of the Federation and others indicated that the demonstration activities meant to deal a head-on blow to Chen Shui-bian, demonstrating the determination of overseas Chinese to fight against "Taiwan independence" and promote reunification of China. Another organizer of the protest activities told the correspondent that participants in the protest activities not only included students from the Chinese mainland and overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin, but also Chinese and veteran soldiers of the Kuomintang from Taiwan. "This fact shows Chen's pursuance of 'Taiwan independence' is unpopular"; the real aim of Chen's "transit" to New York is to split the motherland and take advantage of the chance to peddle "Taiwan independence", this cannot be tolerated by all overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese students.

The things Chen did in his way to New York
At 10:00 on the morning of October 31, Peking Time, Chen Shui-bian and his entourage of around 100 persons, including Taiwan's "foreign minister", took off from Taipei in flight to New York. In his way, Chen's deputy secretary-general told the correspondents that Chen was in high spirits. But it is out of Chen's expectations that what greeted him in New York was a 3,000-strong contingent in protest against him, he seldom saw such an array before.

Nevertheless, Chen still fulfilled his plan made before his departure. On the afternoon of October 31, local time, he met with mayor of New York City, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of New York and other Congressmen, in the evening he attended the "international league of human rights" evening party and accepted the 2003 "international human rights award". On the morning of November 1, he met with several American "friends" and "representatives of overseas Chinese", At 10 o'clock, on November 2, Chen left New York for Panama. While receiving the "human rights award", he prolonged his speech, originally set for 10 minutes to 25 minutes, he began with the talk about "legislation" in human rights next year, as if he had succeeded in re-election.

He spent money to buy the "human rights award"
Chen had taken great pains for the "transit" to New York.

Originally Chen wanted to take advantage of the chance to cover Soong Mei-ling's remains with flag to add a program of making his appearance, but the posterity of the Chiang family said that Soong Mei-ling would not welcome a person, who does not acknowledge the fact that Taiwan belongs to China, to cover her remains with flag. In commenting on this, the New York Times said: Chen Shui-bian advocates "independence for Taiwan", but the Chiang's family still hopes for the reunification of China. On the afternoon of October 31, local time, Chen arrived at the apartment in Manhattan where Soong lived during her lifetime, he hurried away after "mourning" for 10 minutes, half the time less than the pre-set 20 minutes. A correspondent in his retinue said that Chen looked very embarrassed.

In addition, there was a crowd of only several hundred people welcoming Chen outside the hotel, whereas the protesting contingent numbered over 3,000 people. An official of the Taiwan authorities said in private that things were different from what they were years before, "now it is not easy for one to draw in several supporters though he wants to".

As regards the "international human rights award" for Chen, Taiwan media had reported long before, "that the award was bought with money." A vice-chairman of the above-said Federation said that the incidents, such as the seven mainland women who were pushed down the sea in the Taiwan Straits and mainland fishermen who were gunned by Taiwan law executors, were all acts of trampling upon human rights, the international league of human rights should condemn Chen's crimes, instead of granting him an award. In addition, the award-conferring evening party was assisted by US arms dealers and the US united defense company. Many American experts pointed out that "human rights award" assisted by ammunitions companies manufacturing guns, chariots and warships had been a rarely seen matter since ancient times.

US shows no respect for Chen's feelings
Taiwan office in the United States originally prepared to hold a "grand welcoming ceremony" for Chen Shui-bian, but Chen discovered upon his arrival at the airport that welcoming him at the airfield were only Taiwan representatives and two US Congressmen, presenting a cold and cheerless scene.

Chen was greatly disappointed by the US reception specifications. Former US Defense Secretary William Cohen originally promised that he would chair the "prize-conferring ceremony of the international human rights award", but in front of the airplane Chen just took, Cohen passed on the message that he could not attend this evening party for illness. But when Chen mounted the stage to receive the award, someone saw Cohen who looked "very healthy and was busy himself with something". In addition, the originally arranged welcoming cocktail party was cancelled. The "cocktail party planned to be given by Taiwan authorities for ambassadors from countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan to the United Nations was finally not held because the US side deemed it violating the "private nature". Additionally, Chen originally had a plan for "transit" to Los Angeles, but this, too, was "chopped" off by the US side. . Taiwan media also reported that Chen's speech had long before been submitted to the US State Department for "examination". Originally, the US side only allowed three minutes for Chen's speech, later, the time for the speech was extended to 10 minutes only after Taiwan authorities requested quite a long time for an extension of the time.

On October 31, US State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher indicated that no officials from the US State Department met with Chen Shui-bian in New York or Panama. What made Chen feel thoroughly discredited was that an official under the mayor of New York disclosed the US State Department had given the instruction that the photo showing New York mayor's meeting with Chen should not be shown in the Internet and the meeting place should not be in the New York municipal government building; and pictures showing Chen's meeting with and photos taken with US personnel should not be made public. Speaker of the House of Representatives of New York State, who originally planned to have "an intimate meeting" with Chen, also changed his attitude a lot, he secretly changed the date and place for his meeting with Chen at the last moment.

Taiwan authorities miscalculated the situation"
Chen's performances in New York aroused people's worries. Taiwan's China Times and other media reports said that compared to two years ago, although Chen still stayed at the same hotel, however, he had made "three major breakthroughs": First, he had developed from conducting private meetings within the hotel in the past to carrying out activities outside the hotel this time; second, in the past he was not allowed to go into the street, this time he broke through the warning limit and he was permitted to wave to the crowds; and third, in the past he was not allowed to make public speech and to meet with reporters, this time he could mount the stage to speak and accept reporters' covering. Regarding this, officials of Taiwan authorities said gleefully that Chen received courteous reception in the United States and gained fruitful results".

Various major media organizations around the world expressed their worries about this. On the day when Chen arrived in New York, the New York Times, USA Today and other US newspapers published editorials. The first sentence of an editorial (Taiwan leader not tiptoeing around China Pro-independence talk worries US) of USA Today was like this: The "Taiwan independence" inclination has enraged Beijing and aroused the concerns of the United States, but Chen did not care about US concerns. The article said that Chen's recent words and deeds had approached a break of his previous promises and made it possible to trigger new tensions in the Taiwan Straits, the Bush administration increasingly felt worried, uneasy and nervous about this. The New York Sun pointed out that Chen Shui-bian was going ever-faster down the road to "Taiwan independence", this has caused Washington to feel nervous. An AFP (Agence France Presse) report said Chen's eagerness to speak in the international arena had provoked the Chinese mainland and had affected Sino-US relations.

On October 29, spokesman Zhang Mingqing for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council indicated at a regular press conference that Chen Shui-bian's "transit" to the United States, in essence, was to engage in separatist activities designed to create "one China, one Taiwan" and "two Chinas" in the international arena, to interfere with and undermine the general situation regarding the Sino-US relations, we are resolutely opposed to this. Analysts point out that Zhang's statement serves as a warning to Taiwan authorities as well as to the United States. Chen Shui-bian had several hundred supporters in New York, but most of the hundreds of thousands of overseas Chinese in New York support the reunification of China. Taiwan authorities claimed that 20 Congressmen had contacted Chen Shui-bian, but most of the 500-odd Congressmen in the United States stand for maintaining the general situation regarding Sino-US relations. While talking about the actions of Taiwan authority in the United States, a Taiwan media report said, Chen Shii-bian miscalculated the situation.

An article carried on the Global Times, November 3, translated and edited by People's Daily Online


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