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Editorials
Monday, August 7, 2000Taiwan’s bid to enter
the United NationsThe issue: For the eighth consecutive year, countries that recognize the Republic of China have petitioned for Taiwan's admission to the United Nations.
SINCE taking office in May, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has adopted a conciliatory stance toward China, abandoning all talk of declaring the island independent. However, he has rejected Beijing's demand that he acknowledge Taiwan is part of one China that is governed by the People's Republic of China.
Chen has now reasserted Taiwan's de facto independence by continuing the effort of the previous regime to gain admission to the United Nations. For the eighth consecutive year, countries that recognize Taiwan have petitioned for its admission. This year there are 12 governments sponsoring Taiwan.
The government in Taipei argues that the island's population of 22 million, which is larger than that of many U.N. members, is unrepresented in the world organization.
The Republic of China was a charter member of the U.N. but gave up its seat in 1971 after the Communist regime in Beijing was accepted as the sole government of China.
Taiwan's Vice Foreign Minister Wu Tzu-dan cited the good will Taiwan has shown toward Beijing as justification for his government's admission to the U.N. He said this would "provide a forum for reconciliation."
That is not the way Beijing sees it. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Taiwan was trying to move toward a two-Chinas status. He called the proposal "a flagrant violation" of the principles of the U.N.
There appears to be no chance that Taiwan will be admitted to the United Nations over Beijing's opposition. And Chen surely knows it. His motive for continuing the campaign may be to reassure his constituents that he is not caving in to Beijing's demands. At the same time, it is not a position that is likely to provoke an attack by China.
Chen also has made clear that his attempt to be conciliatory does not entail abandoning the defense of Taiwan. He said last week Taiwan must acquire more advanced warplanes and upgrade its fighters over the next 20 years.
Chen warned that the current balance of air power could be threatened in five years when China completes the production of new planes and develops more sophisticated early warning and electronic warfare capabilities.
It is one of the anomalies of the age that a country of the size and importance of Taiwan is barred from the United Nations. You can't blame Chen for trying to break through that barrier.
Medical marijuana use
under feds’ challenge
THE new Hawaii law authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes could come into conflict with federal authority. Such a conflict is being played out in California, where the Justice Department is arguing that doctors who recommend the drug lose their right to prescribe legal medicines. The argument was made at a hearing in San Francisco on a suit seeking to protect doctors from punishment for advising their patients to use marijuana.
An order issued by a federal judge in 1997 barred the federal government from acting against California doctors who recommended marijuana under a 1996 initiative. That measure allowed patients to use marijuana without risking prosecution under state drug laws.
However, it could not override federal laws outlawing marijuana. U.S. District Judge William Alsup must decide whether to extend, expand or withdraw the order.
The Clinton administration opposed the 1996 initiative. Its drug policy chief, Barry McCaffrey, announced after its passage that any doctors who prescribed or recommended marijuana would lose their federal licenses to prescribe drugs, would be excluded from Medicare and MediCal and could face criminal prosecution.
In response, a group of doctors and their patients filed a lawsuit, claiming the government was violating their freedom of speech. The injunction protecting doctors followed.
At a hearing last week, Joseph Lobue, a Justice Department lawyer, said, "It doesn't matter what California says. There is a national standard."
A doctor who recommends the use of marijuana, the attorney said, "has recommended use of a drug that has been found to be unsafe" by Congress and the Food and Drug Administration. He likened it to a lawyer's recommending that a client commit perjury.
LOBUE denied that federal authorities were threatening criminal prosecution but said doctors who suggested the use of any illegal drug risked losing their right to participate in federally regulated programs, including drug prescription.
Supporters of the Hawaii law maintain that physicians need not fear federal action if they recommend marijuana use. In view of the case in California, it appears that question is yet to be decided.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
