DPP Chairman calls for Plebescite should China invoke Anti-Succession Law

Here's a brainy move:

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said Friday he will ask President Chen Shui-bian to call a plebiscite on Taiwan's destiny if China cites its anti-separation law to obstruct the island's plan to vote on its United Nations membership bid.

Yu also faulted the United States for painting the planned UN referendum as a unilateral design to upset the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, saying the vote is intended to tell the world Taiwan is a sovereign country.

The Presidential Office responded by saying it will take note of Yu's opinion and urged the public to back the UN referendum.

Yu told a news conference his party will press Chen to call an independence referendum if Beijing indeed labels the proposed UN vote as an attempt by Taiwan to alter its status quo, in defiance of the anti-separation law.

The law at issue says Beijing may legally use force to bring Taiwan to heel if the island seeks to separate from China. A Chinese scholar said Beijing is likely to invoke the law if Taiwan persists with the UN referendum that will ask voters to decide if the country should seek UN membership under the name of Taiwan.

Yu said Chen's pledge not to call a referendum on Taiwan independence will not hold once Beijing makes the move.

The DPP chair insisted the UN vote is intended to show the world the resolve of Taiwan people to be included in the international community, which he noted will have no practical impact on cross-strait reality.

Yu said the United States should not voice objection to the UN referendum plan as the practice runs counter to its longstanding advocacy of freedom and democracy.

"The US must not seek to please Beijing at the cost of hurting the feelings of Taiwan people,” Yu said.“By doing so, the country falls short of its reputation as the world's leading democracy.”

A-gu had a China Times article up the other day that said that China was so concerned about the UN entry referendum it would attack Taiwan if the referendum passed -- maybe it has finally dawned on China that Taiwan is growing ever more distant, not resigned, as time passes, and that Ma Ying-jeou could lose. After all, you know the KMT told its pals in Beijing to relax, because they had the DPP in the bag. Must have cost them a lot of face with Beijing when Chen beat them twice....

I'm not sure what move DPP Chairman Yu is making in calling for such a thing -- perhaps he is serious, perhaps he is only giving Hsieh and Chen a chance to quash him and appear moderate -- but talk like this, even just to blow off steam, is just the kind of thing that commentators in the US pick up and say to each other "See! I told you these guys are crazy!" Stupid.

Meanwhile, you gotta love writing that says the Anti-Succession Law gives Beijing the legal right to attack Taiwan. Sure. Just like the US had a legal right to invade Iraq, and Italy a legal right to annex Ethiopia. See, they passed a law, a resolution, something, so that gave them the right....the Anti-Succession Law was really a neat bit of propaganda.

[Taiwan] [US] [China]