France reconstruction of Iraq

Visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said
Friday that France is prepared to collaborate in the
reconstruction of Iraq, but that country must advance
towards the "political" solution of its crisis.

"France along with its partners, and in particular
within the European Union (EU), is prepared to
contribute to the political and economic reconstruction
of Iraq," he told a press conference in Mexico.

France will participate along with the Group of Eight,
the Arab League and Iraq's neighbors, in the Sharm el
Sheik (Egypt) Conference, scheduled for Nov. 22-23, to
discuss the economic reconstruction of Iraq and its
security situation.

"We participate in Sharm el Sheik with a positive mind,
wishingfor this event to contribute to the transition
process considered in Resolution 1546 of the United
Nations Security Council, and that it be supported by
the region's countries," he said.

Raffarin insisted the problem of Iraq is "political" and
that the terms established by the Security Council for
the transition -which includes elections in January-
must be respected.

Chirac questions US-led Iraq war

French President Jacques Chirac says he is "not at all
sure" the world has become safer with the removal from
power of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

In a BBC interview, Mr Chirac suggested the situation in
Iraq had helped to prompt an increase in terrorism.

The interview, aired on BBC Two's Newsnight programme on
Wednesday, came ahead of his visit to the UK this week.

President Chirac also maintained that any intervention
in Iraq should have been through the United Nations.

" History will tell who is wrong and who is right "
Jacques Chirac

"To a certain extent, Saddam Hussein's departure was a
positive thing," Mr Chirac said when asked if the world
was safer now, as US President George W Bush has
repeatedly stated.

"But it also provoked reactions, such as the
mobilisation in a number of countries, of men and women
of Islam, which has made the world more dangerous," he
added.

"There's no doubt that there has been an increase in
terrorism and one of the origins of that has been the
situation in Iraq.

"I'm not at all sure that one can say that the world is
safer."

American culture

When asked if his position on troops in Iraq remained
the same, he said: "The way things are now I can't
imagine that there will be French troops in Iraq."

He defended the use of French troops in Ivory Coast,
whose attack on the Ivorian air force sparked mass
anti-French protests in the West African nation.

" America and Europe have to take it upon themselves to
understand each other " Jacques Chirac

"The situation there is altogether different. The French
in Cote d'Ivoire act under the mandate of the UN and
also under a unanimous mandate of the African Union."

He said he understood that Mr Bush would not change his
mind on Iraq - but, he added, nor would France.

"This is not disrespect towards each other," he said.
"We have two distinct analyses and we draw two different
conclusions. History will tell who is wrong and who is
right."

When asked his views on American culture, Mr Chirac
said: "We can't have a world where there's only one
culture."

He said the loss of any language, civilisation or
culture was a "great loss for humanity, because humanity
should preserve its rich diversity, it must not allow it
to perish".

'Strong ties'

But he dismissed as "an absurd idea" that Europe would
build itself against the US.

He described China, India, Asia, Europe and North
America as the "great poles of tomorrow's world and
their requirements must be compatible with peace and, I
hope, democracy".

"America and Europe have to take it upon themselves to
understand each other, not turning against the other
great poles of tomorrow's worlds, but side by side.

"So that when tensions mount and problems arise, there
will be strong ties between these two powers and one of
these ties should be the transatlantic one."

[The interview with President Chirac was broadcast on
Newsnight on BBC Two at 2230 GMT on Wednesday 17
November, and is on the Newsnight website]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4020663.stm

CIA critic: "Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror"

A CIA analyst who wrote a book that criticized the U.S.
war on terror has resigned from the spy agency after it
effectively banned him from publicly discussing his
views, his publicist said on Thursday.

Michael Scheuer, whose book "Imperial Hubris: Why the
West Is Losing the War on Terror" was signed as
"anonymous" and published this summer, will resign
effective Friday after 22 years at the Central
Intelligence Agency.

In a statement, Scheuer said the CIA had not forced him
to resign, "but I have concluded that there has not been
adequate national debate over the nature of the threat
posed by Osama bin Laden and the forces he leads and
inspires, and the nature and dimensions of intelligence
reform needed to address that threat."

He intends to speak to the media over the next several
weeks, including an appearance on the CBS show "60
Minutes" on Sunday.

Scheuer's statement said senior leadership had allowed
the intelligence officers working against al Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden to be made scapegoats for
pre-Sept. 11 failures.

Scheuer was chief of the CIA Counterterrorist Center's
unit which focused on bin Laden from 1996 to 1999 and
remained a CIA analyst after that.

"The Atlantic Monthly" in its December issue published a
letter sent by Scheuer to U.S. congressional
intelligence committees that said the key pre-Sept. 11
intelligence failures were mainly the result of bad
decisions by senior officials.

"While the 11 September attacks probably were
unstoppable, it was decisions by human beings --
featuring arrogance, bad judgment, disdain for
expertise, and bureaucratic cowardice -- that made sure
the Intelligence Community did not operate optimally to
defend America," Scheuer said in the letter.

In June, just before Scheuer's book was published, he
did a series of media interviews, appearing on TV in
silhouette and was identified in print as "Mike."

In the first week of August, CIA officials told him that
he had to ask for permission in advance for media
interviews and provide summaries of what would be
discussed ahead of time, Scheuer's editor and publicist
Christina Davidson said.

"They rejected every single request," she said. "It was
effectively a ban."

His book said the United States was losing the war
against terrorism and that sticking to current policies
would only make its enemies in the Islamic world grow
stronger.

The statement released by his publicist about Scheuer's
resignation said that "after a cordial meeting with
senior CIA officials on Tuesday, Scheuer decided that it
would be in the best interests of the intelligence
community and the country for him to resign in order to
continue speaking publicly with regard to Osama Bin
Laden, al Qaeda, and the 9-11 Commission Report." A CIA
spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

NASA X-43A, a new Jet engine to fly at Mach 10

A tiny unmanned NASA "scramjet" soared over the Pacific
Ocean Tuesday to demonstrate a radical new engine
technology by attempting to fly at a record speed of
about 7,000 mph, almost 10 times the speed of sound.

The 12-foot-long X-43A supersonic combustion ramjet was
to fly under its own power at Mach 10 for about 10
seconds after separating from a booster rocket at
110,000 feet, then glide to a splash landing.

The flight was an apparent success, and confirmation of
the speed achieved was expected to be announced later by
officials at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at
Edwards Air Force Base.

"The research vehicle was absolutely rock-solid stable,"
said Griff Corpening, chief engineer on two previous
X-43A flights. "All indications (are) we had a
successful experiment."

The X-43A, mounted on a Pegasus rocket used to boost it
to flight speed, was carried under the wing of a B-52
aircraft and released at an altitude of 40,000 feet over
a test range off the Southern California coast. The
rocket motor then fired for a 90-second ascent.

Like its predecessors, the X-43A will not be recovered
from the ocean.

The flight was the last in a $230 million-plus effort to
test technology most likely to be initially used in
military aircraft, such as a bomber that could reach any
target on Earth within two hours of takeoff from the
United States, or to power missiles.

Scramjets may also provide an alternative to rockets for
space launches.

Unlike conventional jet engines which use rotating fan
blades to compress air for combustion, the X-43A has no
rotating engine parts. Instead it uses the underside of
the aircraft's forebody to "scoop" up and compress air
for mixing with hydrogen fuel.

The X-43A launched Tuesday was the last of three built
for NASA's Hyper-X program.

The first X-43A flight failed in 2001 when the booster
rocket veered off course and was destroyed.

The second X-43A successfully flew in March, reaching
Mach 6.83 - nearly 5,000 mph - and setting a world speed
record for a plane powered by an air-breathing engine.

That was more than double the top speed of the
jet-powered SR-71 Blackbird spyplane, which at slightly
more than Mach 3 is the fastest air-breathing, manned
aircraft.

The old X-15 was the fastest rocket-powered manned
airplane, hitting Mach 6.7. Rockets do not "breathe"
air, but instead carry oxidizers that are combined with
fuel to allow combustion.

Not having to carry oxygen is one of the advantages
scramjets hold over rockets. Rockets can also achieve
high speeds, but the weight of oxygen tanks or other
oxidizers reduces the amount of payload they can carry.

Tuesday's launch was expected to be the last research
flight for NASA's B-52, which is being retired after
some 40 years of service.

Where Next with North Korea? Report of the International Crisis Group

To confront the unacceptable risk of North Korea's
expanding nuclear arsenal, the U.S. must urgently set
out a comprehensive offer to Pyongyang to test once and
for all the regime's true willingness to give up its
nuclear program and weapons.

North Korea: Where Next for the Nuclear Talks?,* the
latest report from the International Crisis Group,
details an eight-step process under which Pyongyang
would reveal and dismantle various components of its
nuclear program while receiving a series of economic,
energy and security benefits. While there is no
guarantee that any negotiating strategy with the
unpredictable regime will work, only a serious proposal
from the U.S., after consultation with South Korea,
Japan, China and Russia, will put the other parties in a
position to increase pressure on North Korea should a
reasonable deal be rejected.

"There will be no agreement on coercive measures unless
the U.S. first lays out a detailed plan of what North
Korea can expect by way of economic assistance and
security guarantees", says Crisis Group President Gareth
Evans. "Indicating a rough direction of the process is
not enough; all parties need a detailed picture of the
destination if this is to be seen as a good-faith
offer."

North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown to an alarming
level; with as many as ten nuclear weapons, it now has
enough bombs to deter an attack and still have some to
sell to other states or even terrorist groups. The high
risk demands urgent, concentrated action to dismantle
North Korea's nuclear program, and other policy concerns
such as missile controls and human rights, important as
they all are in their own right, must wait until this
critical problem is resolved.

U.S. demands that North Korea dismantle it programs
before any deal can be reached have been rebuffed, and
the talks have stalled. It is necessary to change tack.

By the end of the step-by-step process outlined in
Crisis Group's new report, North Korea would have given
up all its nuclear programs, and that would be monitored
by intrusive verification. In return it would have
diplomatic relations with Japan and exchanged liaison
offices with the U.S. It would receive a significant
input of energy assistance and aid from South Korea,
Japan and the EU. It would also have a conditional
multilateral security guarantee. Having given up its
weapons, it would be in a position to move forward with
full diplomatic relations with the U.S., sign a peace
treaty for the Korean Peninsula, and develop full
relations with international financial institutions.

"Of course, there is legitimate scepticism about
Pyongyang's real intentions to accept any deal, no
matter how reasonable", says Evans. "But the only way to
find out once and for all is to offer it a deal that all
five other parties see as reasonable."

Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 485 555
946 Jennifer Leonard (Washington) +1-202-785 1601

To read the report:

Click the tittle of this article or copy the following
URL: http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3101

Towards a Yen Euro zone in Asia?

Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said it would
have a stablizing effect on the global financial system
if a clear rival to the US dollar as a key global
currency were to emerge

Speaking at a symposium in Tokyo on the theme "The Euro:
Five Years On -- Implication for Asia", the Japan
central bank chief cited data showing the common
currency of the 12-nation European currency bloc is
emerging as a serious rival to the dollar as a key
currency for conducting global trade and investment

"In the past five years (since its launch in 1999), the
importance of the euro has increased considerably,"
Fukui told the seminar, which featured such other
speakers as European Central Bank vice-president Lucas
Papademos, and Toyoo Gyohten, the highly respected
former Japanese vice-minister for international affairs.
Fukui said more than 50 countries link their currencies
to the euro, while the proportion of foreign exchange
reserves held in euros has risen to 20 pct, and nearly a
third of the cross-border-issued bonds are now
denominated in euros. Fukui seemed to welcome the
growing prominence of the euro by referring to the
dangers associated with allowing any single currency to
dominate global commerce

"In such a situation, the economy of the key currency is
easily tempted to focus its economic policy on domestic
considerations," an apparent thinly veiled rebuke to the
economic policies followed by the US adminstration of
President George W Bush

"In today's globalized economy, this could lead to
undesirable ripple effects on the rest of the world,
through the fluctuations of the external value of the
key currency." Fukui said if there were two competing
key global currencies, "competition between them could
lead to more attention to the external value of key
currencies. This could have a positive effect on the
stability of the global financial system." The BoJ chief
briefly indicated that the Japanese yen also had a role
to play in that regard

"I believe that the yen can and should play a larger
role in the global market," Fukui said, citing trends
which could make that a certainty

"Considering the deepening economic relations between
Japan and the rest of Asia, Asia should benefit if the
use of the yen could be facilitated," Fukui told his
high-powered audience

In 2003, nearly half of Japan's foreign trade was with
Asia, up a third over the past decade

Fukui said the yen could play a larger role in both fund
management and fund-raising, especially in light of
Asia's strong demand for capital and Japan's vast pool
of savings

But the Japanese central bank chief dismissed the notion
that an Asian equivalent to the euro -- an Asian common
currency -- would emerge within the lifetime of any of
his grey-haired listeners

"Could we see a common currency area in Asia? For the
near future, you would agree that this is quite
unlikely," Fukui said

He subsequently indicated it could be 50 years before
Asia has a common currency -- the time it took a handful
of Europe's nations to embrace the concept

Great changes would need to occur, such as the
development of vibrant regional financial markets, made
possible by liberalized cross-border capital flows

Fukui said there is encouraging evidence that that is
already happening, beyond merely the tremendous increase
in inter-Asian trade

He cited in particular the example of the Asian Bond
Fund II project, promoted by the 11 central banks of the
EMEAP economies. EMEAP stands for the Executives'
Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks, an
organization founded in 1991 by the central banks of
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand

Japan tested by China on submarine incursion

Japan lodged a formal protest with Beijing Friday after
determining that a nuclear submarine that entered its
territorial waters without identifying itself belonged
to China. Japan's navy has been on alert since
Wednesday, when the submarine was first spotted off
Japan's southern island of Okinawa.

Tokyo had sent reconnaissance aircraft and naval
destroyers to shadow the submarine, which had spent
about two hours inside Japanese waters before heading
north. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura summoned
Chinese envoy Cheng Yong-hua to formally protest the
incursion and demand an explanation, a ministry
spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.
Cheng said Chinese authorities were investigating the
incident and that he would report the protest to
Beijing, the spokesman said. Kyodo News Agency quoted
Cheng as saying he couldn't offer an immediate apology.
"It is extremely regrettable," Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi told reporters later Friday. "In order to
prevent a recurrence, we must know why this happened and
we are awaiting a response from the Chinese. "

Earlier, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said
Tokyo had concluded that it was a Chinese nuclear
submarine after considering a range of factors,
including the fact that the vessel appeared to be
heading toward China.

This submarine may be China's Type 093 nuclear-powered
attack submarine (SSN) conducting its first operational
patrol. China has only two nuclear-powered submarines,
of which only one - the Han SSN, has gotten underway
over the last five years. However, the follow-on to the
Han, the Type 093 SSN should have completed sea trials
by now. Built with Russian assistance, the Type 093
reportedly has the same performance characteristics as
the Soviet-era Victor III SSN which entered service in
1978. It reportedly is equipped with the Skhval 200
rocket-powered torpedoes, the SS-N-16 anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) missiles and the submarine-launched
follow-on to the C-801. The Type 093 is expected to be
quieter, safer and have better sensors than the
Han-class. The Chinese reportedly plan to build five
Type 093 by 2010.

Iris Chang, a Chinese American writer found dead in California

Iris Chang, the prominent Chinese American author and
journalist who fueled an international protest movement
against Japan with her incendiary best-selling book,
"The Rape of Nanking," was found dead from an apparent
self- inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said
Wednesday.

Chang, 36, of San Jose was found in her car by a
commuter about 9 a.m. Tuesday on a rural road south of
Los Gatos, according to the Santa Clara County sheriff's
office.

"I'm just shocked," said retired San Francisco Superior
Court Judge Lillian Sing, who was helping Chang with a
documentary on aging U.S. military veterans who had
suffered as POWs in Japanese captivity during World War
II. "She was a real woman warrior trying to fight
injustice."

Stunned friends and colleagues sought to understand what
might have led to the suicide of an energetic and
passionate young woman who channeled her outrage over
Japanese war atrocities into a busy career of writing
and lecturing. Chang also wrote a history of China's
missile program and chronicled the Chinese experience in
America.

Ignatius Ding, an activist who worked with Chang for
several years in seeking to have Japan acknowledge and
apology for atrocities it committed during World War II,
said Chang's current project videotaping the former U.S.
prisoners of war had been emotionally taxing for her.

"She was doing research recently in Kentucky and ran
into some problem," he said. "She got really upset, and
she flew home." Chang lived in San Jose with her
husband, Brett Douglas.

Ding, who heads the Cupertino-based Global Alliance for
Preserving the History of World War II in Asia, said he
did not know what kind of problem Chang might have
encountered or whether it was a factor in her death.

He noted that she "took things to heart" and usually
became emotionally involved in the tragic stories she
wrote about.

Chang's white 1999 Oldsmobile sedan was found on an
isolated private road west of Highway 17 near the Cats
Restaurant. She apparently had died from a single shot
from a handgun.

"There was evidence that was recovered that corroborated
and was consistent with a suicide,'' said sheriff's
spokesman Terrance Helm, who wouldn't disclose the
nature of the evidence or if there was a suicide note.
An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Her husband had filed a missing person's report with
police at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, saying he rose early to
find his wife missing and that she had been despondent,
said San Jose police Sgt. Steve Dixon. Her husband told
police he had last seen Chang at 2 a.m.

"She was passionate and articulate," said Ling-Chi Wang,
a faculty member in Asian American studies at UC
Berkeley. "It's shocking to lose such a young and
talented person."

"It's a tragic loss," said Chronicle book editor Oscar
Villalon. "She was one of the most visible Chinese
American authors, who wrote a landmark book that brought
to the attention, at least among her American audience,
what was nonexistent as an issue."

Author of three books and many articles and columns,
Chang's most famous work was her controversial 1997
book, "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of
World War II," which described one of the war's worst
atrocities.

Japanese army troops massacred many Chinese in Nanjing
(then called Nanking) in late 1937 and early 1938, and
Chang not only believed that the horrible event was in
danger of being forgotten but also accused Japanese
society of collective denial about it.

Translated into many languages, her book galvanized a
redress movement in the United States. It was lauded in
the U.S. media, drew criticism from several U.S.
scholars on Japan and was vilified by right-wing
publications in Japan.

The book also propelled Chang into an international
spotlight. The year after it appeared, the Organization
of Chinese American Women named her National Woman of
the Year.

She received honorary degrees and lectured widely at
universities, bookstores and conferences. She delivered
the commencement address at Cal State Hayward in June.

"She has been a real role model for young Chinese
Americans," Ding said, adding that Chang inspired many
to consider being authors and journalists.

"She was also well-respected in China," he said.

Wang said she was an important interpreter of the
Chinese American experience to the general public,
adding that in her book on Nanjing, "she has done more
than anybody to call attention to the outrage that took
place."

Helen Zia, Bay Area author of "Asian American Dreams:
The Emergence of an American People," said Chang "wanted
to bring voices to the fore, the stories shunted aside
and ignored in history. This is a huge loss."

Andrew Horvat, Tokyo representative of the San
Francisco-based Asia Foundation, said that "there will
always be controversy over the accuracy and balance of
her writings" but that she "did raise a level of
consciousness that wasn't there before. ... In that
sense, I think her contribution was very positive."

Chang's most recent book, "The Chinese in America," was
named one of the best books of the year by The
Chronicle. Her first book, "Thread of the Silkworm,"
told the story of the Chinese scientist who guided the
development of China's Silkworm missile.

Born in Princeton, N.J., Chang grew up in
Champaign-Urbana, Ill., where her parents are professors
at the University of Illinois. Her grandparents' escape
from Nanjing fed her early interest in what happened
there.

She received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the
University of Illinois and worked briefly as a reporter
for the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press before
entering a master's program at Johns Hopkins University
in 1990.

She appeared on the cover of Reader's Digest as well as
on many TV programs, including "Nightline" and "NewsHour
With Jim Lehrer," and she wrote for numerous
publications, including the New York Times and Newsweek.

The proliferation risk of ITER

"Siting ITER in countries such as Japan, which already
has a large separated-plutonium stockpile, and an
ambitious laser-driven [fusion program], will
considerably increase its latent (or virtual) nuclear
weapons proliferation status, (i.e. its ability to
manufacture nuclear weapons on short notice) and foster
further nuclear proliferation throughout the world".

Although ostensibly a non-nuclear weapons state and
proponent of disarmament, Japan is confronted with the
weapons capability of other countries in the Asia region
(Pakistan, India, and North Korea). With the possible
siting of ITER in Japan, the country would have full
access to large-scale tritium technology and with its
stockpiled plutonium and reprocessing options all
necessary technology to produce "boosted" nuclear
weapons will be at its disposal. Regardless of Japans
intent, the siting could have a destabilizing effect in
the region and may push other countries to increase
their efforts for more advanced nuclear weapons."

[Click the tittle to access the article]

Tokyo governor Ishihara strategic alliance with Taiwan

Ishihara Shintaro, representative of Japan's ultra-Right
forces and mayor of Tokyo has been carrying out
activities in Taiwan these days. Though Ishihara' s
present visit is carried out under the cover of
"promoting the activity of going sightseeing in Taiwan",
judged from the series of his performances put up during
his previous visits to Taiwan and from the schedule made
for his meetings with Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui
and talks on matters concerning "China, Japan and
Taiwan", the visit is obviously a trip with a strong
political flavor.

Attempt to establish a US-Japan-Taiwan "new strategic
triangle" This is the fourth visit he paid to Taiwan
since he was elected magistrate of Tokyo in April 1999,
as well as his second tour to Taiwan within the recent
five months. The only slight difference is that whether
during his visit to Taiwan in November 1999 in the name
of expressing sympathy for Taiwan hit by the disaster of
earthquake, or in his Taiwan visit in May 2000 to attend
Chen Shui-bian's first-term "inaugural ceremony",
Ishihara was acting ostentatiously, he not only
viciously attacked the Chinese mainland, but also openly
supported "Taiwan independence", but in the recent two
visits, he exercised much restraint, which was contrary
to his previous practices.

However, despite his low-key, Ishihara is paying more
frequent visits to Taiwan to carry out activities, this
conveys an information that merits people's attention,
that is, Chen Shui-bian authority is stepping up its
effort to ingratiate Japan's Right-wing forces, it has
taken ever-greater move in its attempt to build a
US-Japan-Taiwan "new strategic triangle". If the Chen
Shui-bian authority's past work with Japan was regarded
"as mysterious as a submarine", then this work, though
still in a somewhat disguised manner, has surfaced,
changing from dark into light after Chen's re-election.

Chen and Koizumi gradually act in step When in office,
Lee Teng-hui energetically fostered relationship with
Japan. Taiwan also had a huge "Taiwan gang" in Japan,
Lee Teng-hui himself was also wantonly flattered by
Japan's Right-wing forces, but limited by Japan's
internal and external environment at that time,
Taiwan-Japan relations gained no notable breakthrough.

At the beginning of Chen Shui-bian's assumption of
power, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
authority's ties with Japan were not close, lacking the
veins of human beings, this once put Chen in a
predicament in his handling of Taiwan-Japan relations.
Later, with the past "diplomatic resources" transferred
by Lee Teng-hui after "Lee-Chen collaboration", the DPP
authority first set up a "work with Japan group" led
personally by Chen Shui-bian in the "presidential
office", then it established the DPP "Taiwan-Japan
friendship association" with Hsieh Chang-ting, who once
studied in Kyoto University and was then the party
chief, appointed as its president, designating
strengthening work with Japan as the focus of its
foreign strategy, it was only then that the situation
took on a new look. In May this year, before Chen
Shui-bian formally assumed office, he hastily appointed
Hsu Shi-kai, "an old hand of the independence faction"
who had long been engaged in "Taiwan independence"
activities in Japan, to be the "representative in
Japan", it is thus clear what importance Chen has
attached to Taiwan-Japan relationship.

In the meantime, great change has also taken place in
Japan's domestic situation. Against the backdrop of
China's gradual rise and the continued slump of Japan's
economy, some Japanese politicians energetically agitate
that "there is problem with Japan's national spirit",
and "this national spirit should be revitalized" and
"Japan's national strength should be restored" by way of
revising the constitution, the domestic Right-wing trend
of thought has obviously raised its head. In such an
atmosphere, the counter-China and assist-Taiwan argument
is in vogue in Japan's political circle, especially
among some pro-Taiwan Diet members, making it a kind of
fashionable "thought".

The Koizumi cabinet has always been regarded as being
friendly toward Taiwan, after the publication of the
"emergence legislation on war contingencies" Three
Bills, the cabinet thought that this seemed to have
given it a "legal basis" for meddling in the affairs of
the Taiwan Straits, furthermore, relying on its
"contribution of money and strength" to US attack on
Iraq and the country's postwar reconstruction, the
cabinet calculated even if it did something that went
beyond the pattern on questions related to Taiwan, the
United States could hardly blame it, and might even
encourage and reward it, therefore, the cabinet became
more audacious from its second term of office. After the
second half of last year, first of all, Japanese
Self-Defense Forces invited several "Taiwan
independence" elements to watch mammoth troops review on
the sea, the Taipei Affairs Office of the Japanese
Exchange Association held in Taibei a cocktail party
congratulating Japanese emperor's birthday, and then
former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori visited Taiwan on
"private business" under the circumstance wherein Chen
Shui-bian was plunged into predicament for his
insistence on pushing for "referendum", all this gave
Chen Shui-bian authority surprise pleasure.

Taiwan-Japan ties led to "alternation of generations" In
recent years, Taiwan-Japan relations have obviously been
upgraded and have experienced some new changes.

First, the two sides have more common languages in the
convergence of "basic value" and idea. On the questions
of Japan's history of aggression, on Koizumi's Shrine
visit and on the issue of Diaoyu Island, although Chen
Shui-bian authority, under pressure of Taiwan Island's
public opinion, dare not give Japan open and
unscrupulous support, they had a strong flavor of being
cheek by jowl with Japan. After the Asian Cup tournament
this year, Chen again made use of the subject to claim
that "it seems Beijing is still not so qualified to host
the 2008 Olympic Games", speaking this in support of
Ishihara. Recently, they also jointly proposed
establishing a "Taiwan-Japan democracy and freedom value
alliance".

Second, Chen Shui-bian authorities achieved notable
result in roping in Japan's politicians of Kainozoic
era, especially Diet members, thus leading Taiwan-Japan
ties to "alternation of generations". After the 1990s,
with the rapid rise of Japanese politicians of Kainozoic
era, the pace of the replacement of the old by the new
in the Japanese political arena was obviously quickened.
Compared with the older generation, this group of people
place more emphasis on the importance of stability in
the Taiwan Straits to Japan's security, thinking that
the applicable scope of the guiding principle of
Japan-US defense cooperation concerning the "surrounding
situation", of course, should include Taiwan, they even
advocate that Japan should further upgrade its ties with
Taiwan to "substantive relations", and need not "take
cue from the Chinese government". This happens to
coincide with the expectations of Chen Shui-bian
authority, and becomes a "spiritual bond" that links
them together.

In recent years, Diet members of various Japanese
parties have come to visit Taiwan in a continuous
stream, some Diet members of the new generation even
feel it honored to meet Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui.
The "theory of expecting Ishihara to be prime minister"
obviously leaves Taiwan authorities much room for
imagination. Chen Shui-bian is in ardent flirtation with
Ishihara, probably this is a reason for their tacit
understanding.

Breakthrough progress in military exchange More
importantly, there has been breakthrough progress in
"security maintenance" and military exchanges between
Taiwan and Japan. "Dialogs on security maintenance"
between Taiwan and Japan have become increasingly formal
and profound in recent years. Some former Japanese
defense officials and retired military officers have
constantly played up "China's armed threat", advertising
that Taiwan should step up purchase of military
equipment and establish "cooperative alliance"
relationship with Japan, bolstering and pepping up
"Taiwan independence".

A Canadian magazine commentary revealed this July that
after suffering repeated setbacks in its purchase of
submarines, Taiwan has turned its eyes to Japan with
advanced submarine technology. Luo Fu-chuan, Taiwan's
former "representative to Japan", immediately made
strengthening "Taiwan-Japan-US security maintenance
ties" the focus of work. Hsu Shi-kai also claimed that
further advancement of "Taiwan-Japan security
cooperation" would be the primary target of his work. At
the recent "Taiwan-Japan forum", You Hsi-kun, "president
of the Administrative Yuan" of Taiwan, openly declared
that there is already "security maintenance treaty"
between the United States and Japan, and there is the
"Taiwan Relation Act" between Taiwan and the United
States, Taiwan and Japan should take advantage of this
to further establish a "security dialog channel", thus
revealing his intention of drawing up the line of
military cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, so as to
form a new strategic triangle of Taiwan, the United
States and Japan".

It can thus be seen that based on its national interests
and the need of regional security, and restricted by the
general international pattern, although Japan would not
lose the greater for the less by making drastic
adjustment of its policy toward the Taiwan Straits,
under the collusion between Chen Shui-bian authority and
Japan's Right-wingers, however, Taiwan-Japan
relationship is indeed a "surging undercurrent", and to
a certain extent there exists the danger of a
qualitative change, which must not be treated lightly.
If this trend cannot be brought under effective control
and reversed, the Taiwan issue will exceed the question
of history and bring more and greater troubles to
China-Japan relations. It is even possible that some day
in the future, people would suddenly discover that the
Taiwan issue has become the most important and most
sensitive question between China and Japan.

[This article is written by Sun Shengliang at the Taiwan
Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, and translated by People's Daily Online]