During a meeting with American friends from the Brookings Institution on Tuesday, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen chose Dec. 10 because it is International Human Rights Day. There is great significance behind choosing that day as the starting date. The designation of an International Human Rights Day was a major milestone in the history of political evolution. It was an indication of the transition from "God-given imperial power" to "God-given human rights." Humanity's political thinking has evolved into referendums commonly accepted by civilized
societies.
Starting the democratic engineering project of creating a constitution on International Human Rights Day is in the spirit of the UN's human-rights efforts. It has the effect of strengthening democratic values and inspiring people living in authoritarian nations such as China. It is an act that deserves the support and blessing of all countries around the world that support democratic values.
By setting a date, Chen has indicated that the referendum legislation, an issue that the blue and green camps have been wrangling over, must be concluded before that time. The legislation will serve as a legal basis for referendums. Since the people want to promote a new constitution by way of a referendum, this legislation must not be the "bird-cage" version proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) - People First Party (PFP) alliance. The people must act to prevent the emergence of a referendum law that would actually restrict their freedoms, of legislation that would be a remake of martial law.
The people of Taiwan need to be on alert about the blue camp's attempts to use the referendum legislation to toady to China and restrict the people's power.
The current Constitution of the Republic of China (ROC)was never really implemented. It was enacted for China in 1947. When former president Chiang Kai-shek's (
The Constitution remains anachronistic even though it was amended six times during former president Lee Teng-hui's (
This Constitution is just as ridiculous as the "map of the ROC" that includes the PRC and the Republic of Mongolia.
Exiled Chinese dissident Cao Chang-qing (
The people want to know why such anachronisms as outdated maps and irrelevant constitutions still exist as well. They should insist that these anachronisms be eliminated.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
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