Posted on 10/20/2005 11:29:23 AM PDT by tallhappy
AFX News Limited
US Congress welcomes visiting Taiwan ex-president Lee as 'father of democracy'
10.20.2005, 01:25 AM
WASHINGTON (AFX) - US lawmakers welcomed Taiwan's ex-president Lee Teng-hui to Congress as the 'founding father of democracy' and praised him for his unrelenting stand against the 'tyrants' in Beijing.
Agence France-Presse also reported that a group of Beijing supporters, some calling Lee a 'troublemaker,' demonstrated outside a building where he had dinner with legislators and other American dignitaries yesterday.
'Today, we are welcoming a great hero of freedom,' Dana Rohrabacher, California Representative from President George W Bush's Republican party, was quoted by AFP as saying.
'President Lee, I want you to know that you are now in the Capitol, where we celebrate those who make trouble for tyrants.'
'We have a monument here for the greatest troublemakers of our history -- Thomas Jefferson and George Washington,' Rohrabacher said, referring to the third and first US presidents.
'They were troublemakers for the tyrants of their day. President Lee is making trouble for the tyrants of our day.'
Amid warnings from Beijing that Lee's trip could damage bilateral relations, the Bush administration has emphasized that Lee is on a 'private' trip and will have no meetings with the government.
But pointing at the battery of TV cameras and throng of reporters covering the reception given in Lee's honor in Congress, New York Democratic Representative Gary Ackerman said the media 'usually don't do that for private citizens.'
In a speech 10 years ago during a high profile trip to the US, Lee warned that China could emulate Japanese militarism of the past, pointing out that its democratization was key to preventing conflict in Asia.
'I personally lived through the misery of World War II and witnessed the rise and fall of Japanese militarism,' he said. 'Without democracy there is always the danger of a large country spreading its power outwards and becoming a threat to world peace.'
That high-profile trip in June 1995 angered China, which subsequently fired ballistic missiles into shipping lanes off Taiwan's two major ports and held war games on Chinese territory facing Taiwan.
Some American legislators challenged the US administration to disregard Chinese protests and allow Taiwan's sitting president Chen Shui-bian to make an official visit to the country to underline Washington's respect for democracy.
'I hope that soon all restrictions on high level visits from Taiwan will be lifted including the President ... so that a balanced understanding of both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be directly available to Congress, the Administration and the American public,' said New York Democratic Representative Edolphus Towns.
The US, which is obliged by law to offer Taiwan a means of self-defense if its security is threatened, is the leading arms supplier to the island despite switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
Welcome to America Mr President. Glad to have you here.
Bush meets with a terrorist but not a freedom advocate. Legacy time ala Clinton?
Your right...but what does President Bush do? He sends Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over to China to kiss up to the tyrants in charge over there!
This should say something about President Bush, shouldn't it?
Your right...but what does President Bush do? He sends Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over to China to kiss up to the tyrants in charge over there!
This should say something about President Bush, shouldn't it?
I agree.
Its not surprising considering this adminstration's bullying of Israel and kissing up to the pali-scum.
What ever happened to that President that landed in a jet fighter on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln? Did someone have him neutered?
I wholeheartedly agree with the posters who state that we indeed should treat this man as a champion of freedom; however my slight knowledge of diplomacy leads me to believe that W has to "play the game" here with the Chi-Comms, as much as he hates it, due to hidden arenas of past and present diplomacy. I too wish that we could call the Chi-Comms bluff and let them know their aggression and human rights record will not stand, but there is something behind the curtain on this one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.