Chen Plans Debate On Taiwan Charter

Chen recently caused concern -- in Taiwan, China and the United States -- with a statement Feb. 27 that the island's National Unification Council had "ceased to function" and that a set of unification guidelines had "ceased to apply." The council was set up in 1990 by the then-ruling Nationalists as a display of willingness to eventually reunite with the mainland. But practically, it had been idle since Chen came to power in 2000.

Chen said he originally wanted to say the council had been "abolished," but was dissuaded by the United States on grounds that he had promised in 2000 not to eliminate it. That promise was one of several -- including a pledge not to substantially revamp the constitution -- made by Chen to pacify concerns in the United States and China that he could create trouble with his passionate quest for independence.

The word change was negotiated over several weeks between Taiwanese and U.S. officials, said Joseph Wu, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council. In the end, Chen's statement also included an affirmation that he was not changing the status quo and would follow legal procedures in any constitutional revision.

As a result, the Bush administration reacted mildly. But China dismissed the shift in wording as eyewash and called Chen's decision "dangerous." Officials in Beijing warned that Washington was sending a signal that Chen could take further steps toward independence without problems from his U.S. supporters.

[Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao referred to Chen's council move during a news conference Tuesday at the end of the national parliament session, correspondent Philip P. Pan reported from Beijing. "His moves are extremely dangerous and deceptive. We need to stay alert to the fact they are now intensifying their secessionist activities," Wen said. "We are closely following developments, and we are fully prepared for all the eventualities. . . . We will by no means allow Taiwan to be separated from the motherland."]

Chen, in Monday's interview, defended his decision on the council as a defense of Taiwan's democracy, saying that only the island's people have the right to decide its fate. Neither independence nor reunion with China should be excluded, he added, until Taiwanese voters have had their say.

Chen expressed dismay that other nations would criticize Taiwan for taking steps to stay out from under Chinese domination. China, with its 1.3 billion people and rising economic power, is like a raging elephant, he said, while Taiwan, with a population of 23 million, is like a little rabbit trying to avoid being crushed.

"When an elephant walks into a china shop," he said, "if it goes crazy, it may make a mess of, or even destroy, the china, antiques or other valuable things located there."