Protest  Statement           

       Give Democracy a Chance, Stop China's Aggression


We, the Taiwanese Americans in Southern California, would like to
appeal  to  our  fellow  citizens to condemn China for its recent
military aggression against Taiwan.

China has announced its plan of conducting a  series  of  missile
tests  scheduled  from  March 8 through March 15.  The targets of
the Chinese missiles are located in international waters as close
as  20  miles  off  the coast of Taiwan.  These tests, along with
those carried out in July and August of last year, must be viewed
as  a  deliberate  sabotage  designed to undermine the first-ever
presidential election  of the island country on March  23,  1996.
We  believe  that  China views this historical event, the acme of
Taiwan's ongoing democratization process, as one of the  greatest
threats to the security of the communist regime.

Even though China repeatedly claims Taiwan  as  a  renegade  pro-
vince, the fact remains that Taiwan has been a separate political
entity from China for over a century. Now the people of  the  is-
land nation are ready to decide their own destiny through ballot,
possibly opting for a de jure independent nationhood.  This is  a
bona  fide  exercise  of democracy, a practice we Americans value
very highly. China, on the other hand, continuously abuses  human
rights,  sells  nuclear weapon technology to countries supporting
terrorism, conducts nuclear tests, occupies  Tibet,  and  pirates
American intellectual properties.  In short, China is an authori-
tarian communist regime with a  notorious  record  and  very  few
scruples about democracy and humanity

The United States, being the leader of the world democracies  and
the  only  super  power in this post cold war era, should support
and encourage the  democratization  of  Taiwan  and  deplore  the
misdeeds  of  China.  Moreover, the Taiwan Relations Acts of 1979
obliges the U.S. to regard any threat to the peace  and  security
of  Taiwan  as  of  grave concern to the United States. It is in-
creasingly clear that appeasement is no longer an effective stra-
tegy against the growing Chinese belligerency. As America pursues
constructive engagement with China,  we should not forsake the 21
million people of Taiwan.

We therefore invite  all  the  people  who  are  concerned  about
China's  aggression  and its consequences to join our protest and
voice  your objection to China's military action against  Taiwan.
We also urge President Clinton, the House of Representatives, and
the Senate to provide Taiwan with advanced weapons for the  coun-
try to defend itself.  And we want to thank you for participating
in defending a democracy.

		   Taiwanese Association of Southern California 
						  March 7, 1996