DECEMBER 2009

DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

Chiang-Chen Meeting must be
transparent
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Chiang-Chen Meeting
must be transparent
- Pg. 1

DPP plans Taichung

mass rally on Dec. 20
- Pg. 1

DPP statement after the

Dec. 5 Election
- Pg. 5

DPP Chair Tsai leads

The relationship between Taiwan
and China is a complicated issue.
We believe that any matters re-
lated to cross-strait negotiation
and signing of agreements must
be carried out in a transparent
and open process. We believe
that, if done otherwise, this could
create public skepticism and in-
spire serious confrontation delegation to Japan
within the Taiwanese commu- - Pg. 6
nity, causing a halt in the pro-
gress of the normalization of
cross-strait relations. It is regret- DPP Statement on U.S.-
table that since the resumption of China Joint Declaration
talks between the two sides this - Pg. 7
... continued on next page

DPP plans Taichung mass rally on Dec. 20 with theme:

“Break the Black Box, Protect our Rice Bowl”
In order to express the public’s concern over the
Ma administration’s handling of cross strait rela-
tions and demand more transparency during the
upcoming Chiang-Chen meeting, the DPP plans
to hold a mass rally in Taichung on Dec. 20.
DPP Headquarters announced earlier in
December the details of the mass rally it is spon-
soring, appealing to all Taiwanese people to par-
ticipate in the rally and express their concerns
over cross-strait relations. The DPP will mobilize
... continued on pg. 4

PAGE 1
 DECEMBER 2009

...Chiang-Chen Meeting must be transparent

... continued "om previous page

past year, nine agreements and one joint decla-
ration have been signed without engaging the
public in debate and evading legislative over-
sight, resulting in great social upheaval. On the
occasion of the upcoming Fourth Chiang-Chen
Meeting, we make the following solemn appeal:
1. We appeal that Chiang Ping-kun,
commissioned as the government representative
in cross-strait talks, be subject to the basic prin-
ciples of a democratic government. He should
not have the right to operate outside legislative
supervision nor should he evade public debate.
Regarding this Chiang-Chen talk, the Straits
Exchange Foundation has only fulfilled the
minimum formality by submitting a report
highlighting the four topics that will be dis-
cussed. However, the report failed to pro-
vide our country's standpoints and it also
failed to provide clear answers to outside
questions. In order to lessen public distrust
towards the Straits Exchange Foundation,
foundation members should produce a new
report before the Chiang-Chen meeting,
dation must carefully assess the current status of
the implementation of existing agreements and
raise concrete measures on how to negotiate and
seek a remedy with its Chinese counterparts.
3. The ECFA issue is a topic of great im-
portance to the country, heavily impacting the
people's livelihood and industrial production in
Taiwan. Therefore, opposition parties have con-
sistently raised the notion of an ECFA referen-
dum to seek the approval of the people, but the
government has turned a deaf year to this re-
quest. The government has also allowed the
controversial importation of U.S. beef and it has
signed MOUs without disclosing enough infor-

?
focusing on the controversial issues and
providing explanations to the legislature
with exposure to the media and the public.
2. Concerning the agreements signed
in the Chiang-Chen meetings over the past
three meetings, the Straits Exchange Foun-
dation has conducted itself inappropriately,
if not evasively, over the review and im-
plementation of these agreements. For example: mation to the public, causing public discontent
the effectiveness of Chinese tourist visits to and resentment. Therefore, since the govern-
Taiwan, compensation claims for victims of the ment has not yet revealed the entire contents of
poisoned-milk scandal, criminal repatriation and ECFA, nor made a report to the legislature or
other issues. Furthermore, the Foundation has sought the people's approval, it should not in-
not provided a clear statement on why it has corporate the ECFA topic in this cross-strait ne-
failed to implement or reach the economic bene- gotiation meeting.
fits it promised these agreements would deliver.
... continued on the next page
Therefore, before this round of talks, the Foun-

PAGE 2

...Chiang-Chen Meeting must be transparent
4. Concerning this Chiang-Chen meeting,
as the public has already raised doubts over
whether the Straits Exchange Foundation can
protect Taiwan's interests, the Foundation
should adhere to the following positions:
(1) On the issue of the inspection and
quarantine of agricultural products, the past
agreements have already relaxed Taiwan's im-
portation standards, resulting in the direct entry
of Chinese black-market or lower quality goods,
causing public health risks and affecting our
domestic competitiveness. In this case, the con-
tents of this time's negotiation agreement should
emphasize the security of public health, and it
should absolutely not lower existing Taiwanese
standards. At the same time, the agreement
DECEMBER 2009
... continued "om previous page
should not accept the quality of the Chinese
inspection and quarantine system until the
Taiwanese public starts to trust the Chinese
system.
(2) Regarding cooperation in the fishery
industry, we must adhere to opposing China's
position to allow fishermen to work in Taiwan
so that we can protect the interests of Taiwan-
ese fishermen. The Straits Exchange Founda-
tion must also provide a clear explanation to
public questions as to whether, after fishery
labor cooperation, there will be further
changes to allow other types of Chinese labor
entering into Taiwan.
(3) Concerning the avoidance of the
double-taxation issue, we must request that the
Chinese side, under no circumstances, can re-
fuse the exercise of our jurisdiction. The
Straits Exchange Foundation must provide
clear answers to public questions over the im-
pact and reduction caused by the financial
MOU with China to our tax income, disorder
in our tax administration structure and con-
cerns over China using taxation issues to inter-
fere in Taiwan's business operations.
PAGE 3

DECEMBER 2009

...DPP Taichung rally ... continued "om pg. 1

people from the north to the south of Taiwan to
participate in the rally. It will also facilitate
transportation for those who wish to attend. In
collaboration with a variety of civic groups rep-
resenting labor, women, children, farmers and
fishermen, the DPP and all aspects of society
will ensure that the
Taiwanese voice is heard during this meeting.
The theme of the rally has been unveiled
as “Break the Black Box and Protect our Rice
Bowl”. Due to the non-transparent manner in
which the Ma administration has conducted its
dealings with China, the black box signifies the
inside secrets the administration has been hiding
from the public. Hence, the DPP is urging the
government to
break open
this black box
and make the
contents of its
agreements
with China
open to the
public, includ-
ing oversight
by the Legis-
lative Yuan.
The
DPP also
added “protect
our rice bowl”
to the theme
of the rally, in
order to send a
message to the Ma administration about our
concern over Taiwan’s welfare, especially re-
garding labor and education, as well as our agri-
cultural and financial industries. The DPP be-
lieves that the signing of MOUs between Taiwan
and China should be conducted on the basis of
equality. We believe that Taiwan must not relin-
quish all its bargaining chips to China when it is
clear that there have been no direct benefits
from China, and, even more, we are losing our
domestic competitiveness as a result of these
agreements. Taiwan, which places high stan-
dards in all aspects of industrial production, is
already showing signs of trouble from its deal-
ings with China. These problems include dealing
with Chinese black-market goods and lower
quality products, including products which
passed Chinese inspection standards like the
past poisoned milk case.
The DPP is also raising another public
concern regarding the public’s discontent with
the way the government has dealt with the
ECFA issue. First, the government has used its
power to reject the request by the DPP for a ref-
erendum on the issue.
Second, it has not al-
lowed the Legislative
Yuan to oversee the
contents of the agree-
ment, and lastly, it has
not allowed for an
open discussion by the
public. The DPP
strongly opposes the
fact that, in this meet-
ing, ECFA is to be in-
cluded on the agenda,
and in this rally, the
DPP will also urge the
government to break
the larger black box
surrounding ECFA’s
contents.
The Break the Black Box and Protect our
Rice Bowl Rally will start gathering the after-
noon of Dec. 20 at 2:30 p.m at two different
starting points in Taichung City. The march will
start at 3:30 p.m., and it will be divided into two
groups; one the Black Box Group and the sec-
ond the Protect Rice Bowl Group. The event
will end with an evening rally at 7:30 p.m.

PAGE 4

DPP statement by Chair Dr. Tsai Ing-wen after Dec. 5th
county and city elections
The following is the full text of Chair Tsai Ing-
wen’s comments at the press conference held af-
ter the county and city election results had been
announced on Dec. 5.
“I would like to first offer my sincere
thanks to the people who voted for the DPP to-
day. You [the voters] made the right choice.
Every vote represented a vote of encouragement
and it also gave us the strength to move forward.
I guarantee that we will work even harder in the
future.
“In this election, the DPP’s three incum-
bent candidates were successfully re-elected. In
addition, the DPP once again regained the ad-
ministration of Ilan County. In regards to the
support rate, there was a considerable increase
from the past elections (the support rate of the
county and city election four years ago was
38.2% and 39.5% in last year’s presidential elec-
tion). This time, the DPP achieved approximately
45% to 46% of support rate. Even though we lost
some counties and cities, the difference between
each opponent was very close.
DECEMBER 2009
“For the DPP, this represents a positive
result, which is also an important step forward
for a renewed DPP. We must make special atten-
tion that with the KMT’s frequent vote-buying
and smearing campaign, the disproportional
amount of resources and party assets, we fought
an 'asymmetric battle'. With this kind of im-
provement, we won a hard-earned victory, repre-
senting that society is reaffirming their support
for the DPP in local governance and their ap-
proval of our reform and reflective spirit.
“We will take the most humble approach
to welcome this new result. Especially, the vic-
tory in Ilan County is of great significance be-
cause it shows us that the people are ready to
trust us again and that the DPP is able to regain
its passion and earn more self-confidence.
“However, this election result is only a
small step, and we must not remain self-
complacent. We took the right step to rebound
from the bottom, but we have not gathered
enough strength to shake the entire pan-blue
structure. There is still a long way ahead to
achieve our goals.
“I would like to emphasize that unity is
how the DPP has been able to get through this
difficult period, and in the future, we must re-
main even more united. The road to the future is
still far ahead and we must treasure this progress
in order to achieve the next victory.
“The most significant factor in this elec-
tion is the vote of no-confidence towards the Ma
administration during this past year. It doesn’t
matter that the KMT is trying to separate gov-
ernment efficiency with election results because
even with their majority governance, they
weren’t able to increase their seats. In the past
year, the failure of its economic policies, the
damage to our country’s dignity and the incom-
petence of senior government officials have ex-
ceeded the limits of what the people are willing
to accept. We believe that the KMT must care-
fully interpret the results of this election and un-
... continued on the next page
PAGE 5

DECEMBER 2009

DPP Chair Tsai leads delegation to Japan

DPP Chair Dr. Tsai Ing-Wen led
a delegation to Tokyo, Japan for
a three day visit, Dec. 13 to 16.
In Japan, Chair Tsai held meet-
ings with members of parlia-
ment from Japan’s Diet and
leaders from several major po-
litical parties. She also met with
DPP supporters residing in Ja-
pan, delivering a speech about
the recent election results.
During the organization
of this Japan visit, China’s intel-
ligence in Japan found out
Chair Tsai’s schedule, and im-
mediately started to try to block
the visit. Prior to Tsai’s visit,
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
Jiang Yu said in a press confer-
ence, “China has consistently
and firmly opposed ‘Taiwan
independence’ elements like
Tsai Ing-wen visiting countries
that have diplomatic relations
with China”. The DPP believes
this press conference was used
as a warning by the Chinese
government to intimidate Japan,
and the DPP extremely regrets
China using these methods to
suppress Taiwan’s international
space.
“China is way off the strengthen the DPP’s relations
mark in thinking that they can with Japan. In the last few
interfere with the foreign rela- months before the Dec. 5th elec-
tions of Japan with Taiwan,” tion, the Ma administration has
said Bi-khim Hsiao, director of handled Taiwan-Japan relations
the DPP’s Department of Inter- in a passive manner, especially
national Affairs in a press con- in not answering the recent
ference as a response to China’s doubts over the reason why Ja-
comments. “They have no right pan’s representative in Taiwan,
to give any directions or com- Masaki Saito, resigned.
mands on how Chair Tsai con- This visit is Chair Tsai’s
ducts our party’s international second visit to Japan this year.
relations. The DPP believes that more in-
“What China has done is teraction between political par-
consistently and deliberately ties and civic society will help
suppressing Taiwan’s interna- improve Japan-Taiwan rela-
tional space, shrinking Taiwan’s tions.
range in international diplo-
macy. This time, in pointing
their comments
towards the Japa-
nese government
regarding what
type of person
should visit Ja-
pan, is even more
outrageous,”
Hsiao said.
Bi-khim
Hsiao further
stated that Chair
Tsai’s trip was to

...DPP statement from the Dec. 5th elections

... continued "om previous page

derstand the message that the people are sending
them. If Ma’s administration continues to sepa-
rate itself from the people, relying on financial
resources and factional politics to buy elections,
the people will respond with an even larger-scale
backlash.
“Finally, we must thank all the people
that came out to help in this election, including
Former Chairpersons Lin, Hsieh, Su, You, Vice
President Lu and our legislators. This election
achievement was the result of a united front.
Without unity, there is no victory. Solidarity is
the party’s energy for progress.”

PAGE 6
 DECEMBER 2009

DPP statement concerning the

November U.S.-China Joint State-
ment
Below is the DPP’s statement regarding the U.S.-China Joint DEMOCRACY &
Statement made on November 17.
Concerning the failure to include the Taiwan Relations Act PROGRESS
in the U.S.-China Joint Statement following the meeting between
U.S. President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, the DPP PUBLISHED BY:
makes the following statement:
First, in the second point of the joint declaration, "Building Department of International
and Deepening Bilateral Strategic Trust", both sides underscored Affairs Democratic
the importance of the Taiwan issue in U.S.-China relations. The Progressive Party
U.S. stated that it "follows its one China policy and abides by the
principles of the three U.S.-China joint communiques", but there is 9F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East
no mention of the Taiwan Relations Act’s concern for security in Road, Taipei, Taiwan
the Taiwan Strait. Past public statements made by the U.S. gov-
ernment regarding the issue of the Taiwan Strait have never devi-
Tel: 886-2-2392-9989 ext. 306
ated from the Three Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act.
Even though President Obama mentioned both during his press
conference statement, this does not make up for the regretful fail- Fax: 886-2-2393-0342
ure to include the Taiwan Relations Act in the Joint Statement. The
DPP believes this is a step back from the U.S.' previous stand- Email: foreign@dpp.org.tw
points. We request that the Ma Administration take full responsi-
bility and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs request a clarifica- Website:
tion from the U.S. government as well as a remedy.
http://www.dpp.org.tw
Secondly the Joint Statement declares, "The United States
welcomes the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan
Strait and looks forward to efforts by both sides to increase dia-
logues and interactions in economic, political, and other fields, and DIRECTOR:
develop more positive and stable cross-Strait relations." The DPP Bikhim Hsiao
has always supported cross-strait exchanges, but in regards to po-
litical exchanges, they must be carried out without political pre- DEPUTY DIRECTORS:
conditions and with a domestic consensus as the foundation to Huang Chih-ta
openly and wholeheartedly carry out substantive dialogue and in-
Hsieh Huai-hui
teraction. Presently, China holds to the "One China" precondition,
which negates Taiwan's sovereignty, places all manner of restric-
tions on Taiwan, and irrationally demands political interaction be- EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
tween both sides. These actions show that China cannot accept the Michael J. Fonte
mainstream opinion of our democratic Taiwan society.
EDITOR:
Ping-Ya Hsu

PAGE 7
 DECEMBER 2009

DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen’s remarks at the Foreign Cor-

respondents Club of Japan

DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen Re- or not we would have a chance “So we are able to come
marks at the Foreign Corre- to rise again. Our defeats last here with a smile, but I must say
spondents Club of Japan, De- year in both the parliamentary that whether we are in govern-
cember 15, 2009 and presidential elections had ment or in opposition, and
devastated our confidence, and whether we are in good times or
“Pio, Friends of the For- we have been working against bad times, our commitment to
eign Correspondents Club of all odds to re-build the party. the fundamental values that our
Japan, Fortunately, our faith in democ- party represents, and our faith in
“Thanks to Pio for invit- racy has prevailed, and we have Taiwan’s democracy remains.
ing me to meet the press here taken the first major step in our Some people interpret the elec-
today. It is certainly my pleas- party’s recovery by making sig- tion as a vote of no-confidence
ure to be in Japan once again, nificant gains in recent local against the Ma administration,
the second visit since taking elections, reaching over 45% of but we know that the rise of the
over the leadership of the the total vote share, a record DPP must depend not only on
Democratic Progressive Party. high for us among the 17 coun- the failures of the KMT gov-
“When I visited this ties and cities that were up for ernment, but on the soundness
March, the DPP was struggling election. of our policies, the strength of
with uncertainty as to whether our own unity, and the restora-

PAGE 8

tion of confidence and trust by
our people.
“Therefore throughout
my meetings here in Japan, I
have shared with my Japanese
political colleagues my thoughts
and analyses of the changing
political landscape in Taiwan. I
have assured our friends that as
long as the DPP continues to
build internal unity and develop
sound, responsible policies, we
are confident that we will
gradually win over the support
of the Taiwanese people once
more.
“My visit to Japan also
illustrates my party’s long-
standing commitment to pro-
moting and deepening the
friendship between Taiwan and
Japan. The change of govern-
ment in Japan a few months ago
is a step forward in strengthen-
ing multi-party democracy in
Japan. We have friends in the
LDP, DPJ and other major par-
ties in Japan. I am unable to go
into details now, but we have
had meetings with friends sev-
eral political parties on this trip.
We hope that the bilateral rela-
tionship will continue to flour-
ish based on the common inter-
ests of our two countries, across
partisan lines and regardless of
which party is in government.
In Taiwan, we have many dis-
agreements with the KMT, but
in regards to promoting rela-
tions with Japan, the DPP is
willing to work with our gov-
ernment representatives in do-
ing whatever is needed to fur-
ther deepen and strengthen this
very much valued bilateral rela-
tionship.
“This is a bilateral rela-
tionship that is important for
Taiwan. Significant economic
and trade ties, as well as histori-
cal and cultural ties have made
Japan the top country with the
most favorable image among
Taiwanese people, according to
polls. But more importantly, we
believe that the Japan-US alli-
ance is the cornerstone for
peace and stability in the Asia
Pacific region, and we, among
many Asians, have expectations
that the strength of the alliance
will continue. We also have
great hopes that Japan will play
a proactive and positive leader-
ship role in Asia.
“Therefore we observe
with interest the proposal of the
idea of an East Asian Commu-
nity. From a Taiwanese stand-
point, our critical questions are
whether that idea includes Tai-
wan and what it means for the
role of our friend the United
States in Asia. We hope to con-
tinue our dialogue on these is-
sues with our friends here in
Japan, and we hope that our
Japanese friends will continue
to appreciate the importance of
supporting the integration of a
free, democratic, and Japan-
friendly Taiwan in any kind of
Asian regional mechanism.
“We realize that the rise
of Chinese political, military
and economic influence in the
world will have an important
impact in Asia. Taiwan and Ja-
pan have a common interest to
ensure that China’s rise does not
DECEMBER 2009
upset the stability of the region,
and that our common demo-
cratic values and the sentiments
of the people are respected in
the process. While engaging
with China in economic, cli-
mate and other issues, we must
keep in mind that uncertainties
exist regarding the course of
China’s political and economic
evolution, and we must be pre-
pared to hedge against the pos-
sibility that development is not
as smooth as anticipated. Such
uncertainties, added to the rap-
idly changing region as a whole,
warrant closer cooperation and
constant communication be-
tween us. Thus Japan’s support
for Taiwan’s integration into the
various regional frameworks is
of utmost importance.
“As Taiwan’s largest
opposition party, we will con-
tinue to play the role of defend-
ing and protecting the interests
of the Taiwanese people. At the
same time, we understand that
to do so we must work to pro-
mote Taiwan’s international
competitiveness and ensure that
Taiwan has a role in the most
progressive trends of globaliza-
tion. We appeal to our friends
in Japan, in the spirit of coop-
eration and common interest, to
continue to work with us in not
only strengthening our bilateral
relationship, but in supporting
Taiwan’s space and participa-
tion in the region.
“I look forward to your
questions and comments."
PAGE 9