Submit your comments on this article | |
East Asia | |
Will Taiwan vote for independence in a "defensive referendum?" | |
2003-12-02 | |
Taipei Times. Hat tip: VodkaPundit. EFL President Chen Shui-bian has detailed the arsenal of Chinese missiles targeting Taiwan in his latest move to build a case for a contentious sovereignty vote next year. Chen said late Sunday it was the first time he had specified the location of bases within 600km holding 496 ballistic missiles pointed at Taiwan. The move is likely to inflame already tense relations with Beijing. His latest comments, at an election rally, have already prompted criticism from the opposition camp, which claimed he had leaked military secrets. Don’t think so. There’s a lot of open-source data from which you could reasonably derive the same assessment. His speech is seen as part of a plan to rally support for a referendum on unspecified sovereignty issues to run alongside the presidential elections on March 20. Beijing and Chen’s political opponents claimed they had dealt the president a telling blow at a legislative vote last week when they effectively blocked his plans for a series of referendums.
Stephen Green, the VodkaPundit, had this to say about that last ’graf: Chen isn’t just scaring the bejeebus out of his constituents, but he’s asking them to vote for independence anyway. It’s as if the first line of the Declaration of Independence read, "The Royal Navy lies off our coasts, there are Hessian mercenaries in our streets, and Britain has the power to destroy everything we’ve built here - so c’mon and support independence!" | |
Posted by:Mike |
#2 The Army may be in Iraq, but the Navy is home refitting. The USN has cranked out quite a few Aegis Destroyers in the last 10 years. Park one at every pier in Taiwan, put the missile systems in auto and let the crews find what trouble they can in the nearest watering holes. |
Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-2 6:23:35 PM |
#1 Meanwhile HILLARY calls for more "boots on the ground in Iraq" |
Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-2 12:13:12 PM |