加拿大《全国邮报》9日发表社论，号召支持台湾，全文如下：
Stand up for Taiwan
National Post
Friday, August 09, 2002
The on-again/off-again war of words between mainland China and the island nation of Taiwan seems to be entering an on phase. Beijing insists that Taiwan, which has run its own independent government since 1949, must eventually return to mainland control -- on threat of force if necessary. To impress this point on the Taiwanese, the China Daily, a Chinese government-run publication, bluntly warned Taipei on Wednesday that "Taiwan choosing independence is tantamount to choosing war." The Daily also quoted a military official as saying that "If [China] wants to strive for peace, we have to be fully prepared for military action [against Taiwan]." How do Taiwan's 20 million people threaten the peaceful existence of the People's Republic's 1.3 billion? He didn't say.
The Chinese are incensed by a speech delivered last Saturday by Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's President. "With Taiwan and China on each side of the [Taiwan] strait, each side is a country," Mr. Chen said. "This needs to be clear ... Our Taiwan is not something that belongs to someone else. Our Taiwan is not someone else's local government." A special irritant to the mainland was Mr. Chen's further comment that "our Taiwan is not someone else's province," an explicit rejection of Beijing's take on the island's status.
Taiwan is a free-market democracy bristling with well-educated entrepreneurs and advanced technology. It is a model not only for China's creaking, repressive Communist government, but for other states in Africa and Asia aiming to modernize. And yet Taiwan is friendless. Hardly anyone recognizes it as a country, to avoid offending Beijing. Fearful of endangering their trade with the mainland, the West's wealthy democracies often look away when Communist China menaces Taiwan.
As the West's natural ally, Taiwan deserves our support in the face of Beijing's threats. The United States has done its part: Earlier this year, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the Bush administration will do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan from military strikes by China. Other Western nations, including Canada, should support Taiwan through diplomatic channels. It must be made clear to Beijing that its dubious revanchism cannot justify threats of violence against a peaceful, effectively independent, neighbour.
┻Copyright ?002_National Post
Stand up for Taiwan
National Post
Friday, August 09, 2002
The on-again/off-again war of words between mainland China and the island nation of Taiwan seems to be entering an on phase. Beijing insists that Taiwan, which has run its own independent government since 1949, must eventually return to mainland control -- on threat of force if necessary. To impress this point on the Taiwanese, the China Daily, a Chinese government-run publication, bluntly warned Taipei on Wednesday that "Taiwan choosing independence is tantamount to choosing war." The Daily also quoted a military official as saying that "If [China] wants to strive for peace, we have to be fully prepared for military action [against Taiwan]." How do Taiwan's 20 million people threaten the peaceful existence of the People's Republic's 1.3 billion? He didn't say.
The Chinese are incensed by a speech delivered last Saturday by Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's President. "With Taiwan and China on each side of the [Taiwan] strait, each side is a country," Mr. Chen said. "This needs to be clear ... Our Taiwan is not something that belongs to someone else. Our Taiwan is not someone else's local government." A special irritant to the mainland was Mr. Chen's further comment that "our Taiwan is not someone else's province," an explicit rejection of Beijing's take on the island's status.
Taiwan is a free-market democracy bristling with well-educated entrepreneurs and advanced technology. It is a model not only for China's creaking, repressive Communist government, but for other states in Africa and Asia aiming to modernize. And yet Taiwan is friendless. Hardly anyone recognizes it as a country, to avoid offending Beijing. Fearful of endangering their trade with the mainland, the West's wealthy democracies often look away when Communist China menaces Taiwan.
As the West's natural ally, Taiwan deserves our support in the face of Beijing's threats. The United States has done its part: Earlier this year, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the Bush administration will do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan from military strikes by China. Other Western nations, including Canada, should support Taiwan through diplomatic channels. It must be made clear to Beijing that its dubious revanchism cannot justify threats of violence against a peaceful, effectively independent, neighbour.
┻Copyright ?002_National Post
