United State Congress Washington, D.C. 20510 February 12, 2007 Dear Senator/HouseRepresentative: It is a great pleasure for us to write this letter to you on behalf of the Chinese American Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification (CAACPR). We wish you great successes in the New Year. However, the year 2007 could see a dire and tragic military conflict unfolding across the Taiwan Straits if serious preventative measures are not taken with great urgency. In order to seek secession from China, President Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan is willing to make more dangerous moves as he gambles all his bets before his presidency is up in 2008. Senator Boxer, we are pleading with you to take a moment and have a closer look at these very unsettling new developments across the Taiwan Straits. Because of the severe situation, we would like to keep in close contact with you and even send a special delegation to meet with you if necessary to discuss the imperative need for developing a peaceful reunification between China and Taiwan before the conflict arises. The severity of the situation and ensuing consequences cannot be underestimated. On the Taiwan Side: Despite Mr. Chen Shui-bian's reputation as Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for his corrupt government and a "trouble maker generally acknowledged by the international community," he continued his provocative political stance of supporting Taiwan independence in his New Year message of 2007 by announcing that "Taiwan is a part of the world, not China." This seriously violates the One-China Principle recognized by the world community. His previous provocative acts include but are not limited to: 1) his 2006 announcement that the National Unification Council in Taiwan "ceased to function" and the National Unification Guidelines "ceased to apply," as a symbol of abolishing the aim of reunification with the mainland of China; and 2) to press ahead aggressively to develop Taiwan as an "independent, sovereign country" despite the risk of war with China (Washington Post, 03/29/2004). On the U.S. Side: The U.S. was reported to be relieved merely because Chen did not touch on the issue of constitutional reform or endorse the “Second Republic” constitution in his New Year message. We regret that after Chen declared that Taiwan is not a part of China, the U.S. still granted him a transit stay in San Francisco and Los Angeles in January en route to Nicaragua, in violation of the three joint U.S.- China communiqués and Washington’s "one China" policy. In particular, the Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on August 17, 1982, reiterated that "the United States of America recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China, and it acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China." On the contrary, the U.S. is scheduled to conduct with the Japanese military joint exercises from January 29 to February 8 to prepare for any crises that might break out on the Korean Peninsula or in the Taiwan Strait. The U.S.-Japan security alliance has entered a new stage to expand Japan’s role to reinforce U.S. military forces in the event of attacks in the "surrounding areas" of Japan including Taiwan. In fact, the U.S. has already taken preparatory actions and announced on 01/09/2007 that 12 F-22 Raptor fighter aircrafts will be deployed to Okinawa, in addition to the 15 to 24 F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter jets in South Korea. An undisclosed number of F-15E Strike Eagle has already been deployed to Afghanistan on 01/14/2007. Altogether, over 300 fighter jets have been deployed around China in addition to heavy infantry brigades at various military bases in Guam, Okinawa, Japan and South Korea. On the Chinese Mainland Side: China has slammed Chen Shui-bian’s New Year remarks and warned the U.S. that 2007 would be the most dangerous year for keeping the cross-strait peace and stability. Sun Yafu, vice director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council just completed a visit in the U.S. On the cross-strait issue, he made a very strong statement: "If the possibility of a peaceful reunification [for Taiwan and the mainland] is completely diminished, we will definitely take resolute actions to defend our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; this is the core value of our national interest." We may recall American history that the secession of the 8 U.S. southern states resulted in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 that ended up with a heavy death toll. China seems prepared for the worst: 12 J-10 fighter jets have been deployed to an air force base in Zhejiang, about 300 miles from Taiwan, seemingly sending a warning signal. In addition, on 01/12/2007, U.S. intelligence officials detected a missile being launched from China's western Sichuan province that destroyed an aging Chinese satellite. Beijing’s sudden willingness to showcase its sophisticated weaponry may be a belief that only a credible military threat can deter Taiwan’s independence movement. Some U.S. military experts predict that Beijing would be able to destroy up to 1,000 U.S. spy satellites within an hour to paralyze the U.S. military force. "Terror Equilibrium" or "Imminent War" ? Is it worth seeing the U.S. and China holding a dire "terror equilibrium" or engaging in a war for the discredited Chen Shui-bian? Chen used a few surveys to show that there is a rise of Taiwan independence sentiment in Taiwan. His statement ignored several important facts based on some other surveys: 1) More than 70% of the Taiwanese people do not consider him a credible leader of Taiwan; 2) More than 40% of the Taiwanese people think he should step down; and 3) An overwhelming majority of the people in Taiwan advocate a peaceful cross-strait development and are against secession. Moreover, Taiwan not only belongs to the 23 million people in Taiwan, but also to the 1.3 billion people in the mainland. From these facts, it is clear that Chen has ignored people’s choice on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and raped Taiwan's democracy to serve his interest as a separatist. Chen Shui-Bian selected the timing of his provocative announcement to poison the relaxed cross-strait atmosphere and the progressive U.S.- China relations for his own personal gains. His announcement risks igniting another fire in addition to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and could lead to much greater loss of American lives on foreign soil. What's Our Choice? Do we Americans have enough wisdom to avoid falling into Chen Shui-bian’s trap of starting a war with China for the sole purpose of benefiting his unrealistic personal goals? We thank you very much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to read our letter and understand our sincere wish for a peaceful reunification of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and wise suggestions. With best regards, Yonggao Wang Executive President of Chinese American Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification in USA Tel no: 312-286-1063 Fax no: 312-275-7853 CAACPR@comcast.net Sheng-Wei Wang President China-US Friendship Exchange, Inc. Curra888@yahoo.com Zhonying Zhao President Chinese American Tribune zhongzhao@sbcglobal.net Isolde W. Chen Acting President Global Chinese Alliance for the Unification of China isoldechen@yahoo.com Tony Zheng President Pennsylvania Chinese American Association for China’s Peaceful Reunification Sixinliang49@yahoo.com Pius Hsu President of the Alliance for Peaceful National Reunification of China piushsu@yahoo.com Hunter Huang President The National Association for China's Peaceful Unification nacpu@yahoo.com |