At the expense of ruffling feathers in Washington, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is pushing ahead with a national referendum on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."
Considering the somewhat frayed relationship between President Chen Shui-bian's (
However, the debate has highlighted an area of indecision within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which in recent months has been experiencing an identity crisis as it tries to repackage itself as a "localized" party.
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
This criticism is not surprising. However, the KMT has also grown increasingly mute in criticizing the DPP for using "Taiwan" instead of the "Republic of China."
Instead, Ma and certain KMT officials have been throwing around another theory: The national title isn't important when applying to international organizations as long as it gets Taiwan's foot in the door. Despite accusing DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
KMT spokesperson Su Jun-pin (
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (
Meanwhile, Ma on Wednesday seemed equally unconcerned, saying that anything that allows the nation to return to international organizations, including the UN, should be given support. He went on to say that Taiwan should be "flexible" about its title.
He cited the WTO, in which Taiwan has been allowed to participate under the title of the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu," as well as the International Olympic Committee, in which Taiwan has the title of "Chinese Taipei," as examples of Taiwan gaining membership through flexibility.
But Taiwan's title in these organizations does matter. It is not a trivial detail that can be brushed aside. Ma's willingness to accept any degrading and misleading name is misguided. His assertion that any name must respect Taiwan's dignity is at odds with his acceptance of any ludicrous title.
Gaining entry into every B-grade organization under an array of ridiculous names does little to assert sovereignty. Taiwan is better served by not participating in an organization rather than participating under a silly name. Taiwan, after all, is not merely a "customs territory."
While applying to international agencies under the name "Taiwan" does not usually meet with success -- as demonstrated by its WHO bid this spring -- it is important for Taiwan to maintain a standard.
And it is better to be rejected by the UN when applying as "Taiwan" than to be accepted under a name not befitting a sovereign nation.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
RSS