To protest against the UN Web site identifying Taiwan as a "Pro-vince of China," students from National Taiwan University, Na-tional Taiwan Normal University and Soochow University have launched a movement to rectify the name, appealing for each citizen to send a letter to demand that the Web site and its related international documents use "Taiwan" as the official name of the nation.
This campaign has echoes in a name-rectification march that will be held today. Similarly, at a recent symposium convened to discuss strategies to boost Tai-wan's WHO bid, the participants concluded that the nation should become a WHO observer under the name "Taiwan."
Mobilizing all the people to change the name of the country has become much more urgent, since this movement has an effect on the fundamental human rights of every person in Taiwan. "Rectifying" the name does not mean "changing" the name, but getting back the unique name which belongs to the people of Taiwan in the first place. If the people of this nation, regardless of age, still fail to call out the name of our mother -- Taiwan -- in the international community, this country will end up as just a Chinese province due to the proliferating effect of the UN Web site.
The damage to cultural, academic and technological standards will spread and harm the nation's politics, economy and society. In today's world, "China" certainly refers to the PRC, but not the ROC.
Since its foundation in 1949, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan for even one day, but it still disseminates the lie that "Taiwan is a province of China." We must no longer put up with this lie; nor must we remain silent. Taiwan is not under the jurisdiction of China. Taiwan and China are independent states that are not subordinate to each other.
All those who identify Taiwan as their own nation are Taiwan-ese. All the Taiwanese should say aloud, "Taiwan is not a province of China."
The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan (
Enthusiastically taking part in the march is what we, the Tai-wanese, should do. Let's take to the streets to rectify the name for our mother, Taiwan, and rehabilitate her due dignity and status. This shall be the best Mother's Day present.
Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the New Century Foundation.
Translated by Jackie Lin
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath