Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) China is unilaterally changing the Taiwan Strait status quo by increasing its military deployment and
intensifying its suppression of Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu claimed Thursday.
Commenting on Washington's response to President Chen Shui-bian's Lunar New Year's Day speech in which he appeared to do a U-turn on his election promises of 2000 and 2004, Wu claimed that what Chen said reflects the Taiwan people's deep concern about China.
Chen said Jan. 29 that Taiwan should seriously consider abolishing the National Unification Council and the National
Unification Guidelines, which were established more than a decade years ago when the now-opposition Kuomintang was in power.
The U.S. State Department responded that the Washington is opposed to any unilateral move by either Taiwan or China to change the Taiwan Strait status quo.
It is not Taiwan that is trying to change the cross-strait status quo, Wu claimed. "First of all, China increased its military deployment drastically over the past year. Secondly, China kept blocking Taiwan out of the international arena ever since it passed its anti-secession law."
"Third and finally, China insists on its 'one China' policy and keeps asking countries to change their relationships with Taiwan, "
Wu said, claiming that it is China, not Taiwan, that is unilaterally changing the status quo.
On Chen's remark that Taiwan participate in the United Nations (UN) under the name of "Taiwan, " Wu admitted that U.S. policy has been very consistent in opposing Taiwan's participation in the U.N. under that name.
"But this is unfair to the people of Taiwan, who have the right to participate in the international organization like all people from
democratic countries, " Wu said. "And U.S. President George Bush claimed in his inaugural speech and the State of the Union address a couple days ago that democracy is a 'proud product of the U.S.'"
When you apply this "proud product" to the international field and find that Taiwan is excluded from the U.N., "it is very ironic, "
Wu said.