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WHA on May 17, 2004 ……

US could back Taiwan WHO bid

ANTICIPATION: The US health chief said the US supports Taiwan's participation in the WHA, but he cannot yet say how he's going to vote on WHO membership

By Joy Su, STAFF REPORTER , IN GENEVA

Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwanese delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) anticipate that the US health chief will speak on Taiwan's behalf during the WHA's general assembly, and that he could cast a ballot in Taiwan's favor.

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson yesterday said that his stance on Taiwan's application was made clear in a letter he had sent to J.W. Lee, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), on May 11.

Thompson read from the letter at a media conference yesterday: "One of the important issues facing the WHO is the need to find ways for the 23 million people in Taiwan to contribute to and benefit from the work of the WHO."

"The United States supports the goal of Taiwan's participation in the work of the WHO [and] I would also like to reaffirm that the United States fully supports observer status for Taiwan at the WHA," he wrote in the letter.

However, Thompson expressed reservations about the certainty of the US vote.

"I don't know if it [Taiwan's application] comes up how it's worded, what it's going to say. I read the letter that sets out my terms and the position that I will take. I am not going to at any time tell you how I'm going to vote on an issue that I don't even know is going to come up," Thompson said.

Taiwan's Department of Health head Chen Chien-jen said that while the US had decided not to propose Taiwan's application as a supplementary item to the assembly agenda, assistant US Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly had previously said that the US would cast a ballot for Taiwan if the issue is subject to an assembly vote today.

While the US has shied away from proposing Taiwan's application to the General Committee, Chen yesterday said that US support for Taiwan's observership bid has seen gradual improvement over the years.

Chen is slated to meet Thompson later today to discuss related matters.

Interaction between Thompson and Taiwanese health chiefs began in 2002 when then the Department of Health director general Lee Ming-liang paid his US counterpart a visit. At the time, Lee's visit was hailed as the first instance of a Taiwanese government official being welcomed into the office of an official of the US executive branch in 30 years.

In addition, while Thompson had spoken on Taiwan's behalf during a World Medical Association (WMA) annual conference in May 2002, US delegates remained silent on Taiwan's application during WHA proceedings that year.

Last year was the first time that Thompson spoke on behalf of Taiwan during the assembly, expressing US support for Taiwan's entry into the WHO during the general discussion portion of the assembly.

Chen also visited Thompson in his office in November last year. According to Chen, they had agreed that cooperation between Taiwan and the US on health initiatives could benefit global health efforts.

In addition, Congress has also passed bills supporting Taiwan's bid since 1999.

A lobby group shouted ``Yes, Taiwan. No, China'' to boost Taiwan's bid for observership in the WHO during a meeting in Geneva yesterday. They were led by Reverend William Lo of the Presbyterian Church, third left in the second row, former minister of health Twu Shiing-jer, second left in the second row, the president of the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance, Wu Shuh-min, fourth right in the second row, the foundation's executive director, Lin Shih-chia, third right in the front row, and the chairwoman of the Ministry of Foreign affairs' Research and Planning Board, Yang Huang Maysing, second right in the second row.

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On May 17, 2004 ……

Coalition strives for international justice

"We must succeed in joining [the International Criminal Court] before Beijing does." --- Dan Tsai, convener of the Taiwan Coalition for an International Criminal Court

LEGAL LEVERAGE: The newly-formed group's leader said joining the International Criminal Court would help to contain foreign military threats against Taiwan

By Lin Chieh-yu, STAFF REPORTER

In a bid to give impetus to Taiwan's efforts to become a member of the International Criminal Court, local non-governmental organizations have formed an alliance and elicited the support of newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen and the National Security Council.

The Taiwan Coalition for an International Criminal Court (TCICC) hopes that the combined hard work of the government and the public will enable the country to become a member during President Chen Shui-bian's second term in office.

"The International Criminal Court was established on July 17, 2002, in accordance with the Rome Statute, and it currently has 94 member countries, but China and the United States have not joined," said Dan Tsai, chairman of Amnesty International in Taiwan and convener of the TCICC.

"It means that we would have a better chance of joining the top international non-governmental organization if we use the name `Republic of China' or even simply `Taiwan,' and directly apply for membership," Tsai said. "Beijing can bring no pressure to bear."

He explained that the US has not yet joined because it fears that its diplomatic and judiciary officials could be asked to get involved in all cases dealt with by the International Criminal Court, a concern which Tsai said does not sit comfortably with its military strategy in the new world order.

Nonetheless, Tsai pointed out, the Bill Clinton administration had signed the Rome Statute on Dec. 21, 2000.

"At the same time, South Korea, to strengthen its guard against the possibility of a North Korean nuclear strike, is already a member of the International Criminal Court, and the US did not oppose this," Tsai said.

He said that if Taiwan were to join the International Criminal Court, it would not only enhance the country's global visibility and give it more room to maneuver in the international arena, but would also grant it the protection of international law and help to contain "foreign threats to use military force or preparations to use military force to invade Taiwan's territory either to annex it completely or otherwise violate our independence and sovereignty."

"Also, for example, say an international criminal or a witness in an important case were to come to Taiwan -- we currently have no laws establishing norms about how this should be handled, how protection would be provided and how to cooperate with other countries in the matter. If we join the International Criminal Court, however, we will become part of an international network against international crime," Tsai said.

Toward the end of the 1990s over a thousand international non-governmental organizations put pressure on all countries to raise proposals at the UN for the establishment of an international criminal court.

On July 17, 1998, the UN approved the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, and on July 1, 2002, that statute came into effect when the International Criminal Court was formally inaugurated in the Hague in the Netherlands.

"The International Criminal Court is an independent judicial organization founded under the legal auspices of the UN, but not operating under the jurisdiction of the UN. For that reason, obstacles to Taiwan's entry, unlike those in the case of the World Health Organization or the UN itself, are relatively few," said the TCICC's chairman, Lee Shen-hsiung.

Lee, a human rights lawyer and former secretary general of the Taiwan Independence Party, said that the International Criminal Court's authority over the judicial organizations of member countries was only of a supplementary nature, meaning that "only when the member country's judicial system is unable or unwilling to act in a serious criminal case will the International Criminal Court intervene."

"For example, if there were an ethnic massacre in a country, an incident of political oppression, such as Taiwan's 2-28 or Kaohsiung Incidents, or a crime committed by an occupying force, such as the Nanking Massacre and other crimes committed during World War II, the International Criminal Court could conduct a trial and, even if it were unable to punish the culprits, it could, by the force of its influence and the due process involved in its trials, ensure that the truth is placed on the record for posterity, so that the subsequent distribution of power takes account of it," Lee said.

Currently the International Criminal Court hears, tries and punishes individual perpetrators in four categories of serious crimes -- genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and international aggression.

The TCICC has existed for more than a year and has vigorously advocated its position within the president's human rights task force.

Foreign minister Mark Chen has expressed great interest in the group's ideas since his appointment. Last Monday he convened a high-level meeting to listen to a report by representatives of the TCICC.

After learning more about the coalition's campaign, National Security Council Senior Advisor Lai Hsin-yuan expressed the hope that Taiwan would hasten steps to become a member of the International Criminal Court.

"The two principal steps to Taiwan's membership of the International Criminal Court are, first, that we amend our crime code and related laws to bring them in line with the Rome Statute and, second, that the Executive Yuan approves and signs the Rome Statute and that the president then formally promulgates it. This will mean that Taiwan has met the legal requirements to apply for membership," Lai said.

Lai was the crucial leader behind Taiwan's successful bid to enter the WTO and has been the primary coordinator of Taiwan's affairs in relation to APEC. He believes that the government should organize a special task force capable of bringing influence to bear on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, civil groups, the National Security Council, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant departments, in order to open channels between Taiwan's non-governmental organizations and the International Criminal Court.

"Although China is not yet a member of the International Criminal Court, it has recently been sending people to attend and monitor international forums and meetings concerning the International Criminal Court. This is a global trend. The International Criminal Court is one of Taiwan's best routes on which to seek international assistance to resist military incursion by China. We must succeed in joining it before Beijing does," Tsai said.

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On May 17, 2004 ……

Taiwan is not a colony of the US

By Koo Kuan-min

Historical Background: On July 2, 1776, in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the resolution that declared independence from Great Britain. It declared, in part, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." The declaration, which explained why the Colonies (now States) declared their independence, was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

President Chen Shui-bian will be re-inaugurated on May 20. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the US is seriously concerned about Chen's inaugural speech, and that the US will closely observe his words and actions.

As far as we are concerned, Powell's remarks are inappropriate. Since the US is criticizing and commenting on Chen's words and actions, we must tell the US that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, and not a US colony or subordinate nation. The US should exercise self-restraint in its meddling in Taiwan's domestic affairs.

At the same time, we must also remind the US that Taiwan's political landscape has changed dramatically over the years. In particular, the Taiwanese people's national consciousness and demands for national status have become very clear. Almost 90 percent of Taiwanese see Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country, while 84 percent firmly oppose China's "one country, two systems" formula. This is the political reality the US must fully understand. If the US continues to view the Taiwan Strait and the cross-strait relationship according to its one-China policy, unchanged after 30 years, it is running the risk of getting out of touch and violating the political reality. US adherence to a one-China policy will also deepen Taiwan's mistrust and worries about the US. Consequently, we believe it is time for the US to reconsider its one-China policy.

The US bases its approach to the country on the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the three Sino-US Communiques. The TRA was ratified and took effect in 1979. It is a domestic US law. The US constantly claims that it relies on the TRA to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and protect Taiwan. We are exceedingly grateful for this, but we need to underscore the fact that the TRA is a domestic US law tailored to the US' own national interests and its interests in the Western Pacific region. We have no rights, nor do we have any obligations, with respect to this law.

Furthermore, the three communiques signed by the US and China all state that "there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China." This recognition is far from the current political reality, nor does it tally with the actual situation. A new public opinion and national identification has developed n recent years. The recognition of Taiwan and China as two different countries, one on each side of the Taiwan Strait, is now the consensus of a majority of Taiwanese.

This is Taiwan's new public opinion. If the US keeps following its outdated one-China policy when dealing with the cross-strait issue, it will not only be ignoring the political reality, but it may also misjudge the cross-strait situation and further complicate a solution to the problem.

The US is a modern democracy with several core values -- democracy, freedom and human rights. Taiwan's experience of the democratization process over the past 10 to 15 years has gradually established recognition of a national community. This experience has firmly established some of this community's core values -- democracy, freedom and human rights. Taiwan and the US share the same democratic core values, a fact that binds us closer together. In order to maintain a friendly relationship with a rising China, however, the US must respect China's existence and even the possibility that China could be a potential threat. Taiwan cannot change the fact the US must interact with China in its own national interest. However, we cannot agree when the US turns its back on its own democratic core values, for example by suppressing Taiwan's need for self-determination and national sovereignty, or suppressing the democratic requirements through which Taiwanese use democratic means to complete a referendum or write a new constitution.

When the US constantly demands that Taiwan should engage in dialogue with China, but ignores the fact that China threatens our national government and says that dialogue is only possible if Taiwan accepts the one-China policy, we do not understand US standards for democracy and equality. Nor do we understand when the US sternly says that a nation abiding by democratic core values and respecting democratic procedure -- the ROC -- is not allowed to hold a referendum or write a new constitution, change the status quo or declare independence. And where are the US' democratic core values when they want to observe Chen's words and actions? Does the US still have its nation-building spirit?

We also think of The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, one of the US' founding fathers, which clearly states: "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

In fact, the reason for the further separation between Taiwan and China is exactly described in the US declaration: "We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence."

Taiwan is a beautiful nation. The people of Taiwan and those of the US share common values. We firmly believe in the values that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Each word and sentence of these human values are also stated in the US declaration. Has US policy departed from the founding spirit of its core democratic values?

At a time when Taiwan is gradually becoming a whole new nation, and when society is implementing universal democratic values step by step, we deeply hope that Washington can offer its utmost support for Taiwan based on the two countries' shared democratic beliefs. Moreover, in light of Taiwan's new mainstream opinion, and the new political reality in the cross-strait situation, we would like to appeal to Washington: now is the time for the US to review its one-China policy.

Koo Kuan-min is a policy advisor to the president.

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