Ma Statement on Christensen’s Speech

Ma Statement on Christensen’s Speech

September 13, 2007

On Thomas J. Christensen’s recent speech opposing DPP’s initiative to apply for United Nations membership under the name “Taiwan”, Ma Ying-jeou issued the following statement today:

Returning to the United Nations is the hope and aspiration of the overwhelming majority of Taiwan people; no matter how it is viewed by the outside world, we will do our best to achieve that goal.

Some outside the KMT view our plebiscite on “returning to the UN” the same as DPP’s version. It is a serious misunderstanding. The two versions differ from each other far more than their wordings: The KMT’s initiative to return to the U. N. is aimed at maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Straits while it is the DPP’s intention to break it. This is the basic and major difference between the two.

The KMT’s proposal intends to work out our way to return to the UN in a moderate, pragmatic, flexible manner with dignity. As a matter of fact, this has been what Taiwan has been doing since 1994. The same is also true with other international organizations during the same period. The KMT’s current version to return to the UN is nothing but putting it into plebiscite language. In other words, this is why the United States has time and again severely criticized the DPP’s initiative while leaving the KMT’s proposal untouched. Because our version does not involve change of the status quo.

The DPP’s version on applying for admission to the UN is clearly intended to break the status quo. For this reason, President Chen Shui-bian has repeatedly emphasized “the founding of a new and independent state” while referring to this issue. The United States and other concerned parties all see through DPP”s true motive to break the status quo. This is why the U.S. has repeatedly criticized it with unusually high decibel.

Attachment : none