Taiwan's Chen plans to join anti-China protest

Taipei, Mar 16: Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said today (Mar 16, 2006) he plans to join a massive rally this weekend to protest China's threat to use force against the self-ruled island.

Chen, keen to shake off Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the island, said a decision to scrap a dormant but symbolic body and 15-year-old guidelines on unification would prove to be an important milestone in history.

The move triggered condemnation from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, to be brought into the fold by force if necessary. China and Taiwan split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

''All efforts to deepen our democracy have been viewed as fierce floods and savage beasts that are equal to war and disaster, and misunderstood as so-called de jure independence,''Chen said in a speech to a group of Taiwanese living in Japan.

''But in the end, they all turned out to be democratic achievements recognised and cherished by Taiwan people,'' he said.

Chen said he would join 100,000 people in Saturday's protest organised by his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to mark the first anniversary of China's passage of the Anti-Secession Law.

China's parliament passed the law on March 14 last year, authorising war if the island formally declares independence, thereby violating Beijing's ''one China'' policy.

For Taiwan's 23 million people, the issue of reunification versus independence has always been tricky. Opinion polls consistently show more than 80 per cent of Taiwan people prefer the status quo.

Last week, tens of thousands of opposition supporters, who favour closer ties with China, marched through Taipei to denounce Chen, accusing him of fanning tensions with China.

REUTERS

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