| Submit your comments on this article |
| East Asia |
| Taiwan Allowed to Call ’Sovereignty’ Vote |
| 2003-11-29 |
| In a move likely to infuriate China, Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian said Saturday that a new law allows him to call a referendum vote on Taiwan’s "sovereignty" on March 20 if he chooses to. Chen Shui-bian said a new referendum law passed Thursday lets him to call for a public vote on sovereignty on March 20, the day of the next presidential elections, if he wants to. "Next year, on March 20, we can still organize a referendum, to protect our country’s sovereignty," Chen told supporters. "In order to prevent Taiwan’s national security and Taiwan’s national sovereignty from being threatened by any outside force, and from undergoing any change, I have the duty, I have the responsibility to be able to call for a referendum if the government approves," Chen said. I think we ought to have a carrier group a little ways northeast of Taiwn say, oh, March 18th. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Not too sure Frank, the mainland economy is lot more fragile currently than you can probably imagine, hell of it is the military is what probably is keeping it together over there, they might not have a revolt, well not a successful one at least. I suspect what we'll see is a speeding up of that plan the US Navy decided earlier last month to have 4 aircraft carrier battle groups in the region early 2004 that was originally to meet while China was doing its own naval ops. |
| Posted by: Val 2003-11-29 1:44:01 PM |
| #2 Chinese war on Taiwan would crush both economically, and a boycott would surely follow - I'd start looking at relocating manufacturing facilities in China to elsewhere, and publicly explain why. Whatever face they think they'll gain by trying to retake Taiwan would be nothing compared to the devastation it would do to the mainland....can you say revolt by the starving and broke masses? I knew you could |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-29 9:57:43 AM |
| #1 The ChiComs appear to think that threatening Taiwan is the way to get it back. When all that will do is scare Taiwan into demanding independence all that much sooner. It appears they think that Bush will discard Taiwan, possibly for a deal on North Korea. I don't think this is viable either, that such would be a gross misreading of the President. |
| Posted by: Ben 2003-11-29 4:22:33 AM |