A Sign Of Hope In Taiwan’s Tense Political Drama

By James Donahue

Sept. 8, 2005

The political news in Taiwan involves a public demonstration of that island’s naval power as Christian driven President Chen Shui-bian attempts to demonstrate a military readiness to ward off any aggression by China to stop his efforts to fully separate Taiwan as an independent state.

It is a sad demonstration at best, with a small regatta of two frigates, two missile boats and two S-70C anti-submarine helicopters participating in a drill that concludes with a torpedo launching from a Hai Hu (Sea Tiger) Sword Dragon-class submarine.

The purpose of the drill is to demonstrate that the submarine is capable of striking its target.

Taiwan has been preparing to do battle with mainland China if the mother country follows through with a threat to reclaim Taiwan as its own territory. From all appearances it would be a one-sided and brief skirmish, except for one factor. The Bush Administration in 2001 agreed to a major arms deal involving the sale of eight conventional submarines, 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft plus other arms designed to help in the island’s defense.

Also President Bush has agreed that the United States will defend Taiwan if and when Chinese forces attack.

Psychic Aaron C. Donahue says this is a recipe for a major war between China and the United States if it is allowed to fester. He believes such a war would escalate into a nuclear exchange and that if it occurs, China will emerge the winner.

Donahue made this prediction on his website, on his Voice of Lucifer Internet radio show, and also during an appearance last year on Coast-to-Coast radio. It appears that somebody was listening.

In December, a legislative procedure committee killed the original arms procurement bill and there appears to be an effort within the government to put the brakes on the sale. This transaction also is fiercely opposed by China. Chinese General Zhu Chenghu publicly warned earlier this year that of the Americans “draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition onto the target zone on China’s territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons.”

Chen is pressing hard to purchase those weapons from the U. S. “We fully understand that in the face of China’s rise, particularly its military rise, we have to strengthen our self-defense capabilities,” he said.

But Chen, who narrowly won his bid for re-election, is expected to be replaced in the 2008 presidential elections by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, newly named leader of the Nationalist Party. If China can wait until then, Ma promises to make “every effort” to end the 56-year-old split between the island and mainland China.

“Only by doing that can we bring eternal peace to both sides,” he said in a recent interview with Associated Press.

Political analysts say they see Ma as a virtual shoo-in as Taiwan’s next political leader.