CNN在3月30 日以明顯標題引述陳水扁總統接受華盛頓郵報專訪，內容指出陳總統強調將繼續建立【獨立、主權國家】，即使面臨戰爭威脅也不會改變。
“Chen to press for independence” ：Chen has vowed to proceed with plans to write a new constitution, developing Taiwan as an "independent, sovereign country" despite the risk of war with China, he said in an interview with the Washington Post.
此報導刊出，總統府在3月30日出面否認。
對於華盛頓郵報的報導內容，總統府公共事務室主任黃志芳今天否認指出，華盛頓郵報的標題跟導言是採訪記者自己不正確的解讀，陳總統沒有講過相關的話。黃志芳強調，陳總統在訪談中一再希望兩岸能夠永久和平，也不希望兩岸進行軍備競賽，陳總統盼望未來四年兩岸能夠建立和平穩定的互動架構。(NEWS 98)
台長聲明:
統獨爭議關係台海安全和穩定，作為國家領導人於此敏感時刻所發表的談話，備受矚目。公投議題上不敢碰觸統獨公投的陳水扁總統，在未獲得過半公民支持的第一次的320公投失敗之後，下一步會如何走? 沒有投給阿扁的選民，會不會認同阿扁總統在這篇專訪中的言論和看法?
政治觀察的學者認為阿扁總統有可能為總統大選爭議所引發的信任危機解套，利用華盛頓郵報訪談，表現強硬姿態刺激對岸引發爭議，藉以轉移焦點。但是，將台灣推向危機邊緣的做法，是否適當? 未來若有機會訪問學者，本新聞台會做後續報導。
蒐集此次華盛頓郵報專訪相關中英文網頁，也感謝 YN SUNG 提供華盛頓郵報刊登內容 。
CNN原文網頁：
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/taiwan.election/index.html
陳總統接受華盛頓郵報專訪問答中文網頁:
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/040330/43/js9s.html
華盛頓郵報專訪網路原文：
Taiwan President Pushes Independence From China
Chen Condemns Beijing for Stifling Democracy in Hong Kong
By Philip P. Pan and David E. Hoffman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 29, 2004; 2:55 PM
TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 29 -- Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, speaking in his first interview since a failed attempt on his life and a narrow election victory that his opponents are contesting, declared Monday he had won a mandate from voters to press ahead with an agenda to develop Taiwan as an "independent, sovereign country" despite the risk of war with China.
Chen vowed to go forward with plans to write a new constitution for Taiwan within two years, a move China has said could amount to a declaration of independence and compel it to seize the island by force. He also condemned the Chinese government for blocking popular demands for democratic reform in Hong Kong, saying its interference in the affairs of the former British colony has made the Taiwanese people even more determined to reject unification on Beijing's terms.
Chen's defiant remarks, delivered in Chinese a little more than a week after he was shot in the abdomen and suffered a flesh wound while waving at supporters from his motorcade, signaled an intent to carry his campaign's tough line toward China into a second term despite the deep divide his approach has created in Taiwanese society and the unease of the Bush administration.
The United States is committed to helping Taiwan defend itself against a Chinese attack, but officials have expressed concern that Chen's plan to draft a new constitution might draw U.S. forces into an unnecessary military confrontation with China. The Chinese government claims sovereignty over Taiwan and threatens to seize it by force if it formally declares independence.
Chen, who appeared relaxed and confident during a one-hour interview inside the presidential palace, also denied unsubstantiated charges by his opponents that he engaged in election fraud and staged an assassination attempt the day before the March 20 election to win sympathy from voters. He defeated his opponent, Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan, by a margin of less than 30,000, or 0.2 percent, of the 13 million presidential ballots cast.
After a week of protests, Chen agreed Saturday to Lien's demands to set up a special task force to investigate the shooting and allow the courts to conduct an island-wide recount. A team of international forensic experts has joined the shooting probe, which has identified no suspects, and the recount could begin this week.
Chen acknowledged he was barely reelected and that his referendum proposals on relations with China failed, but the 54-year-old lawyer noted that he won the support of 1.5 million more voters than in 2000, when he was elected with only 39 percent of the vote. He attributed the increase in his support to 50.1 percent to a growing sense among Taiwanese that they are citizens of a new, independent nation separate from China.
"The fundamental reason I won this presidential election . . . is because there is a rising Taiwan identity and it has been solidified," Chen said. "I think the Beijing authorities should take heed of this fact and accept the reality."
"I think we have reached an internal consensus that insists on Taiwan being an independent, sovereign country," he added, noting that Lien backed away from his party's longstanding position in favor of unification with the mainland during the campaign.
Chen's comments came just days after Beijing issued an unusually strong warning that it would not tolerate turmoil in Taiwan and announced plans to issue a legal ruling as early as Friday that could squash growing demands in Hong Kong for direct elections to choose the territory's leaders. By speaking out at such a sensitive moment and drawing a link between Taiwan's future and China's approach in Hong Kong, Chen raised the stakes for those in the Communist Party leadership who want to stifle the pro-democracy movement in the territory.
"In Taiwan, we have full democracy, and our freedom and democracy are fully protected," he said. "We do not wish to return to the era of authoritarianism. We don't want our freedoms to be restricted or taken away. . . ."
"Right now, the people of Hong Kong are fighting for direct elections for their chief executive and general elections for the entire legislature, but the Beijing authorities are unable to consent," Chen said. "They even say, 'Wait another 30 years and we'll see.' I think this is very ridiculous."
"For the 23 million people of Taiwan, this is the greatest warning, and also the clearest signal. 'One country, two systems' is totally unattractive to the Taiwan people," he added, referring to the formula under which Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and which Beijing says Taiwan must eventually accept. "What has happened in Hong Kong has shown that this system, this formula, is a total failure."
Chen said Taiwan has observed "major problems" with Beijing's rule of Hong Kong, recalling that about 500,000 people turned out for a huge demonstration last July "because they felt their freedom and democracy had been infringed upon."
Taiwan President Pushes Independence From China
The Chinese government refused to hold talks with Chen during his first term because he would not endorse its "one China" principle, which holds that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. Chen said he would continue to reject the demand in his second term because Beijing defines "one China" as the People's Republic of China and Taiwan as a local government, "which is totally unacceptable to our people."
But Chen also said he wants to set aside his differences with China on Taiwan's status and begin negotiations to improve cross-strait relations, including establishing political ties, opening direct air and shipping links and reducing military tensions. Taiwanese companies have already invested as much as $100 billion in the mainland and hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese live at least part of the year in China. China suspended talks between the two governments in 1999.
If the Chinese government insists on the "one China" principle as a precondition for talks, Chen said, Taiwan will only answer with a demand that China must recognize it as a separate country. "Then, I believe the two sides will be forever deadlocked, major differences cannot be solved and it will be impossible for both sides to sit down and talk," he said. "We understand this in our hearts. So don't raise the 'One China' principle."
Chen also repeated an offer he made four years ago to discuss the possibility of Taiwan's eventual unification with China, and announced he had set up a task force to improve relations with the mainland.
"The so-called 'one China' does not exist now. Perhaps it will in the future," he said. "We should all be able to sit together and deal with the future one China issue together."
Chen defended his plan to write a new constitution for Taiwan, approve it in a referendum in 2006, and enact it by 2008, when Beijing is scheduled to host the Summer Olympics. China has argued that a new constitution would sever Taiwan's legal ties with the mainland, and senior Chinese military officers have declared that China is willing to go to war against Taiwan over the issue even if it means a global boycott of the Games.
But Chen said the new constitution had nothing to do with Taiwan's independence and instead was aimed at deepening democratic reform and improving governance, by lowering the voting age, adding new human rights guarantees, reducing the size of the legislature and settling other disputes that have left the island's government in gridlock.
"It is not a timetable for independence or any attempt to change our status quo," Chen said. "Our future efforts at re-engineering our constitution and constitutional reforms will be only done on the principle of not changing the status quo."
Asked how he would address China's increasing build-up of missiles and other military capabilities aimed at Taiwan, Chen said he would continue to strengthen Taiwan's military and expand its defense and "counter-strike" forces. But he said he would not be drawn into an expensive arms race with China. He also said Taiwan would not develop offensive weapons to deter a Chinese attack, as some military experts have urged as a cheaper alternative to defensive systems.
Instead, he said Taiwan's democracy would help it stand up to Chinese aggression. "I think democracy, and by insisting on having a democratic Taiwan, is the greatest defense and the best arms that we have in the face of China's military threat," he said.
Addressing the ongoing dispute over the election results, Chen expressed sympathy for his opponents but urged them to accept the will of the people. "Even if you just win by one vote, you still win. And even if you lose by one vote, you still lose, and everybody must accept such a result," he said.
He also said the shooting has made him more determined. "For me personally, I have just completed the last election of my lifetime. The day before the election, I trod the fine line of death. And that had a great impact on my life philosophy and my attitude toward my political career," he said. "I will not be knocked down or defeated so easily."
圖片來源:
http://2000.wingnet.com.tw/select.htm 
