The international community condemned it with one voice. On March 3, the spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand said Chen's behaviour threatened the peace, stability and security across the Taiwan Straits and in the Asia-Pacific region and reiterated that the Thai government would adhere to the one-China policy and oppose Taiwan's independence. The Thai Chinese society also condemned Chen unanimously.

By ceasing the functioning of the NUC and the application of NUG, Chen's true intention is to seek Taiwan's independence. The Taiwanese authorities set up the NUC in 1990 and declared the NUG in 1991, to the effect that there is only one China, that both the mainland and Taiwan are Chinese territories, and that promoting unification is the shared reasonability of all Chinese people.

Chen committed to "Five NOs" in his inauguration speech in May 2000, one of which was not to abolish the NUC and NUG. In May 2005, he reiterated the "Five NOs" in his inaugural address. However, Chen Shui-bien openly broke his promise now with two crystal-clear aims: one was to make fait accompli to test how the international community responds, and pave the way further for a "Taiwan Independence Constitution"; the other was to cause tensions in cross-Straits relations and block the process of unification by interrupting the good momentum across the Taiwan Straits started since the Chinese government took a series of measures to promote exchanges between two sides across the straits last year, including inviting leaders of the Taiwan opposition parties to visit the mainland.

Ceasing the functioning of the NUC and the application of NUG once again revealed Chen's evil intentions of splitting China, and the whole world thus saw once more Chen's true nature of seeker of "Taiwanese independence" and a "troublemaker".

There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is part of China. This is the common will of 1.3 billion Chinese people with the 23 million Taiwanese included. This is also the fact recognised by 167 countries and 138 inter-governmental organisations including the Untied Nations. Taiwan is China's Taiwan. Taiwan's future is to be decided by all Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots. The status quo of separation due to historical reasons cannot change the crux of the issue, that Taiwan is an inseparable territory of China, nor can it be employed by a few pro-Taiwan Independence individuals as an excuse to split Taiwan from China in the name of Taiwan compatriots. No matter how Chen and his cronies change their rhetoric and tactics, "Taiwan Independence" attempts are doomed to failure. An unjust course finds scant support. No matter whether in China or abroad, ancient times or present day, anyone who splits his motherland and betrays the nation can't escape failure and will eventually be nailed to the disgrace poles of history.

The Chinese government will carry on the guidelines of peaceful unification and the policy of "One Country, Two Systems". We will further promote people-to-people contact and economic and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Straits and facilitate the progress of establishing the "three direct links" between the two sides. Our policy is consistent and explicit and has gained broad support both at home and abroad. We will continue to demonstrate our utmost sincerity and efforts to work with Taiwan compatriots to maintain and promote the peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits relations and achieve peaceful reunification.

We believe that the truth- and peace-loving people around the globe will see through Chen Shui-bien's "Taiwan Independence" scheme and oppose it, and support the cause of China's peaceful unification.

Wu Jun

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Spokesman of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China Don't throw the baby out

with the bath water

 Have we really exhausted all the legal avenues for the accusations against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra? The current thinking seems to be that Thaksin has co-opted all the legal channels and that we have no way to convict him in a court of law. That seems a very bleak view of our judicial system. Have we really given the due process enough chance? Or are we too impatient and simply want a quick sentencing because in the court of public opinion the guy is already guilty beyond doubt?

I believe that our courts and the due process of law still offer the best hope of bringing people to justice. It is man-made and therefore capable of being abused, but in the end it offers the fairest chance of bringing justice into this world. I still think that there are some good men and women out there who could carry out this process fairly and competently.

We Thais might do things a little strangely at first but in the end we get things done through our own obtuse style. If Thaksin is as guilty as people say he is then he will face his judgement one day. It might not be as soon as some people would like, but if he is found guilty then the two things that he craves most - honour and a place in history - will be denied him. I can't think of a harsher punishment for a man who already has everything.

But meanwhile a man is innocent until proven guilty and democracy must be allowed to run its course. My pet peeve is against those who propound that just because the legal process has been somewhat dysfunctional we should therefore ignore the whole edifice of democracy, the cornerstone of which is the principle of "one person, one vote". Now, which of those four words don't they understand?

They say those voting for Thaksin are at best partially informed or uneducated or poor and at worst stupid, ignorant and selfish - caring only for their own private gain. Isn't it possible though that a mass of people fitting such description could together come up with a wise decision? Democracy is bigger than any one person - we should not let personal issues and feelings cloud our thinking. We should not let the failure, if it can be called that, of any part of the system to destroy the whole system. What's the expression? To throw out the baby with the bath water?

People like Thaksin come and go and there will be more of the likes of him, I am sure. The important thing is to preserve the ideal because it will be around longer than any of us or our petty squabbles.

Kemadist Chiaracharuwat

Bangkok

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Compromise would be a setback for the country

 Danuj Kamolvathin says of the stalemate between the Thai Rak Thai Party and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that both sides do not know what they want (Letters, March 17). This observation is off target. The PAD wants to remove Thaksin from the premiership while the Thai Rak Thai is still in premier Thaksin's hip pocket - and he wants to hang on to his post, at the very least, to protect his assets.

Like many observers, Danuj wants to see a compromise. This may sound un-Thai or un-Buddhist to Danuj, but in this case there must not be a compromise. If people think that Thaksin is good for the country, they should send him postcards and flowers. If people think that Thaksin is robbing the country blind and causing a potential civil war with his ugly handling of the Muslim South, they should support the PAD by attending the rallies, sending money or supplies or standing up in front of the crowd to expose Thaksin in the areas they know best.

If the rally remains strong and nationwide strikes take place, the stalemate will be broken and there will be the dawn of a new day as we embark on the road to a responsive government. Compromise will not get us there. Actually, compromise will set us back because we will be inviting a different chapter of tyranny.

Veharachan

Bangkok

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Hopes for a happy holiday despite political agitation

A friend and I plan to visit your capital city in a few days' time as a tourist from a fellow Asean country. However, the recent turn of events have left me and many potential visitors to Thailand in doubt.

We know you are doing what a democracy should do - we are not questioning that. We have no intention of taking sides. We follow the daily reports by the foreign wire services stating that the demonstrations have been peaceful and that the Army does not plan to intervene. For that I'm partly relieved.

I don't wish to cancel my holiday to Bangkok, but I fear that it takes very little agitation to spark violence. That's not how we wish to remember our maiden trip there. We just want to visit as neutral vacationers.

Jonathan Chew

Kuala Lumpur

Pax Vobiscum should check his facts before writing

 Re: "Alienated Arabs likely to shun American business", Opinion, March 13.

Over the many years I have resided and worked in Thailand, I have been amused at the many ponderous, inchoate letters written to the major English language newspapers by Dr Charles Frederickson (aka Pax Vobiscum). I've frequently wondered how anyone with a PhD (if that indeed is the case) could demonstrate such functional illiteracy and found myself often regretting that Thai readers might mistakenly consider such rambling missives as actually constituting proper English. I have also ignored his vehement diatribes against the United States as one often finds such embittered self-haters in exile in Thailand.

The good doctor's illiterate, alliterative missives consistently sink under the weight of misstatements and factual inaccuracies, as well as logical fallacies so tortuous as to astound. But facts have never stood in the way of a good rant as the doctor so well demonstrates. His recent eructation contains a major factual error that shows that the good doctor not only doesn't understand even rudimentary economics, but that he is too lazy to spend a few minutes to check his facts. He states that the US economy "relies upon trillions of foreign dollars daily to cover its surging deficits and stay afloat".

Nonsense. In fact, so far from reality as to warrant immediate derision. A one-minute Google fact check will show that in 2005 the US trade deficit was under US$800 billion [Bt31.3 trillion] for the entire year (plus a $350-billion budget deficit). This works out to just over $2 billion per day. Not great, and certainly not defensible or good for the US economy or US taxpayers, but hardly "trillions of foreign dollars daily".

If Dr Frederickson is going to continue to subject readers to his embarrassingly badly written and conceived opinions, the very least he can do is to get his facts straight.

David Donnelly

Bangkok

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