March 21, 2004 :: Taiwan News :: News
On March 20, Taiwan held its first-ever referenda in conjunction with the presidential election, one of which concerned the deployment of further missile defenses should China fail to withdraw its missile buildup near Taiwan. Although the missile defense referendum is not legally binding due to a technicality (only 45% of eligible voters participated, 50% is required to be binding), the overwhelming majority of the voters who did participate (90%) were in favor of the missile defense resolution, which read as follows:
The People of Taiwan demand that the Taiwan Strait issue be resolved through peaceful means. Should Mainland China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeted at Taiwan and to openly renounce the use of force against us, would you agree that the Government should acquire more advanced anti-missile weapons to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities?
President Chen, in his acceptance speech, added the following concerning the missile defense referendum:
The results of the two referenda demonstrate the majority view of the Taiwanese people. The government will abide by the democratic decisions made directly by the people and respond with concrete action in the new major national policy areas of “strengthening defense” and “negotiations based on equality.” At the same time, we want to again appeal to the mainland to understand how firm the Taiwanese people’s will is in wanting democracy and peace. We ask them to remove the missiles deployed against Taiwan, give up their military threat, and instead let us together open the door to cross-Strait peaceful and stable dialogue and negotiations.
In a press conference for foreign press, a reporter form the Washington Post asked if Taiwan will continue to procure missile defenses, to which Dr. Lin Chia-lung, cabinet spokesman, replied that they would, and that the defense policies “will remain unchanged,” and noted that the 90% support for the policy among those who participated only confirmed that steadiness.
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