by Berta Delgado
Staff Writer of the Dallas Morning News

   Carrying signs that read "Let Taiwan be Taiwan" and shouting
"China, hands off Taiwan," a group of about 200 gathered at the
John F. Kennedy Memorial on Saturday to make people aware of the
fears they have for their homeland.

   With Great Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China on Tuesday,
some Taiwanese fear that their island could be engulfed by China
in the next few years.  So, "Say No to China" rallies were held
Saturday in a handful of cities across the United States and in
Taipei, Taiwan.

   Local participants said they couldn't imagine a better place
to gather than at the four walled memorial downtown.

   "We chose the memorial because John F. Kennedy stood for
freedom", said Y. T. Lin, an officer with the World United
Formosans for Independence, one of four groups that sponsored
the Dallas Rally.

   The Dallas Chapter of the Taiwanese Association of America,
the Taiwanese Collegians and the Taiwanese Hakka Association also
sponsored the two-hour rally Saturday afternoon that started with
chants and ended in song after a march in downtown.

   "We hope to let people know that Hong Kong reverts to China,
but Taiwan is different from Hong Kong in many ways," said Nora
Tsay, president of the local chapter of the Taiwanese Association
of America.  "We don't want to be another Hong Kong.  We want to
remain a free democratic country, not under Communist control.

   "It's only fair that the future of Taiwan is up to the 21
million people in Taiwan to decide," she said. "We want to get
this message across nationwide, but not only in America, we also
want to let China know."

   Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1841 after China's defeat in
the Opium War.  Britain leased additional land on the peninsula
across from Hong Kong island in 1898 for 99 years.  That lease
expires at mid-night Monday.  After 156 years of separation,
China has promised to implement for Hong Kong a "One Country, Two
systems" concept for the next 50 years.

   Holding signs that read, "One Taiwan, One China," participants
in the rally said Taiwan and Hong Kong are too different to
compare.

   "Taiwan has been a de facto independent country since 1949,"
said Helen Lin.  "China has never had Taiwan under control, We
want to preserve our democracy and freedom."

   Just last week, Taiwan showed off its military arsenal in
what was believed to have been an exercise to display a major
difference between the country and Hong Kong.  But Taiwanese
officials denied that the July 1 handover had anything to do
with it.

   "We have to buy enough, train enough, so that China under-
stands that we are prepared to pay the necessary price to resist
Beijing aggression," Sen. Parris Chang, an opposition member of
the Taiwanese Parliament, told The Associated Press last week.
"That is the meaning of deterrence."

   Ms. Tsay said Taiwanese-Americans are feeling a sense of
urgency.

   "We're trying to help the people back home, and holding
rallies is one thing we can do," she said.

   Elaine Tsay, 11, who held a "Honk for Taiwan" poster while
standing near Commerce Street, said she believes the rally
helped.

   "People are honking," Ms. Tsay's niece said excitedly.
"They're actually supporting Taiwan.  It's surprising because
people don't usually pay attention to us.  But they are today."