- (AFP) -- Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian again demanded
China remove "immediately" the 400 missiles it has targeted at
the island and renounce the use of force against his country.
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- The renewed call Thursday comes ahead of the Sino-US
summit on October 25 between Chinese President Ziang Zemin and President
George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas.
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- Last month, on the eve of September 11, Chen insisted
China remove the missiles which he said were "terrorising 23 million
people".
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- In his National Day message, Chen also urged Beijng to
reopen dialogue with Taipei through joint negotiations to bring about an
easing of tensions between the two long-time rivals.
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- "Our government will continue efforts to push for
a normalization of cross-strait ties based on our belief in friendly reconciliation,
active cooperation and everlasting peace," Chen said in front of top
Taiwanese military and government officials at the presidential office
as part of the National Day celebrations.
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- But Chen also reinterated Taiwan's independent existence,
saying the Taiwanese people's desire for freedom, democracy and peace "must
not be compromised under communist China's continuing military threat and
the intimidation aimed at our our country in the international community."
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- "I solmenly urge leaders of the People's Republic
of China to remove immediately the 400 missiles deployed across the strait
and openly renounce the use of force against Taiwan.
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- "Only by reopening cross-strait dialogue through
rational negotations can (we) break the confrontation," he said.
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- China has considered Taiwan a renegade province awaiting
reunification ever since the governnment of Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist
Party) fled to the island in 1949 after its defeat by the Chinese communist.
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- The KMT, founded by Sun Yat-sen in China in 1911 lost
power in the island after half a century of rule in 2000 when its candidate
lost the presidential election to Chen, a member of the pro-independence
Democratic Progressive Party.
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