China has key to solve Korea row

NUCLEAR DEBATE: Beijing's foreign minister said that trilateral talks are the way to go and also made it clear that finding a resolution will be a long, drawn-out process

REUTERS , PHNOM PENH

"The North Korean issue can only be resolved by peaceful means ... The Beijing talks are the only way ... There cannot be nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula"－Li Zhaoxing, Chinese Foreign Minister

The Beijing format for talks on the North Korean nuclear issue is the only way to a peaceful solution, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said yesterday, hinting that a US offer of diplomatic relations might help.

In a rare and wide-ranging interview, Li stressed the importance of the UN as the only body able to deal with international issues and took a veiled dig at the US for ignoring UN processes.

The talks among China, the US and North Korea that began with a round of meetings in April in Beijing were the only way to resolve the North Korean issue, said Li who took up his post in March.

"The North Korean issue can only be resolved by peaceful means," Li said. "The Beijing talks are the only way."

No date has been set for another round of talks, with the US pressing North Korea to expand the meeting to include neighbors Japan and South Korea that lie within range of Pyongyang's huge missile arsenal.

Washington believes talks including China, South Korea and Japan would give them a stake in ensuring the North Koreans stick to any agreement.

Pyongyang rejects multilateral talks as a ploy to isolate it and repeated its demand for bilateral talks.

The war of words between the US and North Korea has sharpened since last year when US officials accused the North of developing nuclear weapons and President George W. Bush lumped it in an "axis of evil" along with Iran and pre-war Iraq.

China, which brokered the talks in April and is Pyongyang's nearest friend, was of the view that North Korea was diplomatically isolated, Li said on the sidelines of the annual security meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnom Penh.

"This must be resolved," he said, in an apparent hint to the United States that an offer of diplomatic relations could be a way to help break the deadlock.

"There cannot be nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula," Li said.

North Korea found its nuclear program topping the agenda of the forum yesterday when other nations in the 23-member grouping urged an end to the nuclear crisis.

Li has said he expects many difficulties ahead in the talks.

However, he appeared optimistic about the prospects for a visit to Beijing by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vaypayee starting on Sunday, saying he expected what will be the first trip by an Indian prime minister in a decade to cement "friendly ties" between the two neighbors.

Border and territorial disputes, which brought the two to war in the early 1960s, would not be a stumbling block, Li said, blaming the problem on the failure of colonial powers to resolve the issues before independence.

"These problems have a long history and we take a historical perspective," Li said, adding that he expected talks at some point in the future to lead to a peaceful resolution but saw no urgency.

The visit also offered the two developing world giants the chance to assert their independence from the US, analysts said.

Li took a dig at the US when asked about the importance of the UN in a post-Iraq war world.

"No other international body can replace the United Nations," Li said.

"But there are big powers that think they can just have their own way, big powers that find reasons to interfere in the internal affairs of others," Li said. "This is not reasonable."

Kao should face legal penalties for his acts

By Wang Sing-nan

The name tag of Center for Disease Control Director General Su Ih-jen, who headed Taiwan's delegation to the Global Conference on SARS held in Kuala Lumpur, carried the correct title of "Director-General CDC Taiwan" without the word "China" anywhere on it.

Meanwhile, PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien, who insisted on being invited to attend the conference in his capacity as an individual, was confirmed to have been recommended by China, the country that has spared no effort to obstruct Taiwan's entry into the World Health Organization (WHO). Kao was a member of China's delegation, with the title of "Professor of National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China."

During Taiwan's fight against the SARS epidemic, Kao amazingly displayed his double-faced tactics by oscillating between lawmaker and professor, between government official and individual.

He organized the so-called "cross-strait anti-SARS videoconferences" at the Legislative Yuan, in his capacity as a legislator, and then he joined China's delegation, in his capacity as a professor, to attend the WHO conference in Malaysia.

His attitude achieves the same purpose as Beijing's "one China" principle, which has different versions at home and abroad, in dealing with the Taiwan issue.

For Taiwan, Kao is a PFP legislator. For other countries Kao manifests in his actions that he is "part of China."

Although Kao emphasized that he is attending this week's conference as an individual who is part of China's delegation, this still might run counter to Taiwan's national interests.

It would be worthwhile asking legal experts' advice what should be done with Kao, given the following consideration.

First, China should not be discriminated against for being the origin of the SARS virus. But its uncivilized behavior in covering up the disease, hindering WHO experts from entering China to conduct investigations and misleading other nations' anti-SARS efforts should be denounced.

In particular, its neglect of the life and health of the people of Taiwan and its barbaric use of political tactics to thwart this nation's WHO entry bid invite nothing but repulsion.

As a SARS exporter, China has even repeatedly blocked Taiwan's efforts to contain the disease. If we liken the fight against SARS to a war, China can surely be described as an "enemy."

It is quite doubtful whether Kao's attendance as a representative of the "Chinese enemy," instead of being recommended by the Department of Health, should be dealt with according to Article 113 of Criminal Code.

This article states, "A person who without authority secretly agrees with a foreign government or its agent on matters which require the authorization of the government shall be punished with imprisonment for life or for not less than seven years."

Second, as a legislator, Kao's attendance at the conference as China's representative has violated Article 3 of the Legislators' Conduct Act, which stipulates that, "[Lawmakers] should be loyal to the country and foster the highest well-being of all the people." The legislature's discipline committee should handle appropriately this case.

Moreover, lawmakers are subject to the regulation stipulated in Article 20 of the Nationality Law. If Kao is confirmed to be a national of China, shouldn't he resign his position as a lawmaker? Otherwise, suspicions will be raised that a "representative of China" serves as a legislator.

Wang Sing-nan is a DPP legislator.

Coming home with egg on his face

PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien's attendance at the World Health Organization's (WHO) global SARS conference in Malaysia has ignited another independence versus unification dispute. The local media have reported on the war of words over Kao's status. It is almost as if the presidential election campaign has already begun.

Kao has come under such strong pressure from public opinion as well as opprobrium from the DPP and the TSU for good reason. He was not a member of the Taiwanese delegation and his name was listed by Beijing as a representative of the PRC's"Taiwan Province." As a legislator , Kao should have been more politically astute. After all, the nation's sovereignty status is an important matter at international conferences.

Kao should have lodged a complaint the day he arrived in Kuala Lumpur against Beijing's attempts to twist his representative status and to humiliate Taiwan. He should have demanded a correction from Beijing from the start, instead of waiting until the furor back home had spun out of control. Instead Kao lodged a complaint with Chinese officials at the end of the conference, when it was way too late. Beijing had achieved its goal of creating the impression that Taiwan is part of China and Kao's protest became just a minor interlude in the international event.

Regardless of whether Kao really attended the WHO conference at China's invitation, anyone can see that Beijing was trying to use PFP members as pawns in its propaganda campaign and he was the latest dupe. Beijing took advantage of the PFP's friendly attitude toward it. Kao, a neurosurgeon, only entered politics when he accepted the PFP's offer of the legislator at-large seat. So elated by an invitation to the conference, Kao apparently did not notice that he was entering Beijing's trap. Others might argue that he has been conniving with Beijing all along.

It is unfortunate that the incident has ignited another furor over independence versus unification because it will only sharpen the ethnic conflict in society in the run-up to next year's election. People already associate the PFP with "selling out Taiwan," thanks to remarks by PFP Chairman James Soong.

After all, Soong has said he would bring Taiwan into the WHO within two years if the KMT-PFP tickets wins the presidential election next March. He has also stressed time and again that the joint ticket would accept a "one China" policy. As usual, Soong has yet to explain in detail just how he plans to execute this diplomatic breakthrough in the WHO. By failing to give an explanation, Soong has inevitably allowed all kinds of speculation that are detrimental to him, as well as fears that he may accept China's "one country, two systems" and turn Taiwan into a local government of China on a par with Hong Kong and Macau. He has done little to dispel such worries.

The furor has driven home one lesson for the nation's political parties and politicians -- they must always be alert and never underestimate Beijing's machinations. The PFP should especially take note of this.