Reference: 03-06-1996 Pg-354 English

Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg Transcona, NDP)

	Mr. Speaker, On behalf of the NDP caucus, I would like to say today that we
deplore the intimidating tactics being employed by China off the coast of
Taiwan.  Why is it that superpowers cannot resist the urge to act the bully
when it comes to small islands in their so-called sphere of influence.

	The People's Republic of China should give up the notion that Taiwan is
somehow part of China.  Let China be China and let Taiwan be Taiwan.  The
Taiwanese people, including its aboriginal population, have a history and
identity that is independent and distinct from the mainland.  Any dispute of
this fact must be resolved peacefully and with utmost respect for the
democratically expressed wished of the Taiwanese people.

	It is time for China to put the political residue of the civil war behind
it and realize that Taiwan, especially now that it is a democracy, is a
country of its own and should no longer be seen as a refuge for the losers
of a bygone battle.