The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) National Congress that opens on Sunday will be a key factor in shaping the political environment of Taiwan, not only in terms of next year's legislative and presidential elections, but also the future of the DPP. The focus of the meeting will be on whether to add a clause to the "normal country resolution" stipulating that the nation's title shall be changed to "Taiwan."
The "Republic of China" (ROC) now exists in name only. Quickly changing the national title to "Taiwan" is the hope of most DPP members. But when the DPP's Central Standing Committee discussed the resolution, the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the draft were replaced by the vaguer "writing a new constitution and the correction of the national title as soon as possible."
This kind of substitution gives people the feeling that it was done in a perfunctory manner. What does "as soon as possible" mean? When will that be? This sounds like a Chinese cookbook that talks about adding "some salt" or a "suitable amount of sugar." The meaning is lost.
In Western cookbooks, amounts are precisely written in teaspoons or grams. The vagueness and over generalization in the resolution leaves one feeling they are just empty phrases.
Another crucial factor is the deletion of the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the draft. This strips the resolution of its soul. The 300,000 supporters who took to the streets in Kaohsiung and the 4,000 people who gathered at a rally in New York to push for the UN referendum under the name "Taiwan" show that only the name "Taiwan" arouses people's passion.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
If the DPP's presidential candidate moves closer to the political middle ground, however, he will be abandoning the ideals behind writing a new constitution and correcting the national title, which would take Taiwan further along the path toward normal statehood.
The name "Taiwan" is the DPP's trump card. Dropping this card and following Ma toward the center would be a mistake in principle as well as in strategy.
Playing the "Taiwan" card can not only consolidate the pan-green camp, but also build support for the DPP.
Statistics from the Government Information Office show there have been more than 1,600 reports published by the international media reflecting the Taiwanese government's active UN bid this year. This figure is four to eight times more than in past years.
Former US senator Bob Dole, who was also the US Republican Party's 1996 presidential candidate, published an article in the Wall Street Journal supporting Taiwan's UN bid. Dole wrote that "... the country is applying under its own name [`Taiwan'] rather than its official appellation [`ROC'], which is certainly worthy of public support." He also wrote that "[Taiwan] meets all of the requirements of statehood under law."
An opinion poll showed that about 80 percent of Americans know that Taiwan is a country, but that only one percent of Americans know that Taiwan is not a UN member.
The opinion poll published on Sunday by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) explained the situation: 70 percent of Americans say that if Taiwan passes its referendum on a UN bid under the name "Taiwan," the US should not oppose the wishes of the Taiwanese.
Clearly, only if Taiwanese speak up and reveal the truth will they be able to elicit sincere support.
Meanwhile, in the run-up to the DPP's National Congress, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun has been indicted for allegedly misusing his "special allowance fund."
As the pan-blue camp is attempting to get rid of the DPP heavyweights through judicial means, conscientious DPP supporters who have set the future of Taiwan as their top priority should form a support group urging Yu not to resign from his post.
At the same time, all DPP supporters should advocate the inclusion of the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the "normal country resolution." History is in the making.
Cao Changqing is a political commentator based in the US.
Translated by Lin Ya-ti
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday last week held a debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty. The issue of the retention or abolition of the death penalty often involves the conceptual aspects of social values and even religious philosophies. As it is written in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the government’s policy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods, and it is impossible to be perfect. Today’s controversy over the retention or abolition of the death penalty can be viewed in the same way. UNACCEPTABLE Viewing the
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agricultural exports and tourism, upon receiving a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation led by KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁). This demonstrates the two-faced gimmick of China’s “united front” strategy. Despite the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in 25 years striking Hualien on April 3, which caused