Cheering "Say yes Taiwan, say no to China," roughly 5,000 advocates of Taiwan independence yesterday marched to the Presidential Office, calling for support from Taiwanese people worldwide for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan.
On the first anniversary of the DPP victory in the 2000 presidential election, a large-scale parade was staged by the "Taiwan Nation Stands Up Coalition," composed of a number of pro-Taiwan independence groups. The World Taiwanese Congress, an organization founded in December by overseas Taiwanese from different countries who also hold a pro-independence stance, also participated in the march.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Before the event started, some also declared their pro-independence position by obtaining a "Republic of Taiwan" passport.
Carrying DPP flags and signboards reading "support Taiwan independence," those who joined the march blamed opposition parties for having caused chaos in society by thinking purely of their parties' interest. The march called for a joint effort by all Taiwanese people to empower the country.
"We are here to wake these people [who are pro-unification] who do not love Taiwan," said Stephen Lee (李勝雄), secretary-general of the World United Formosans for Independence (台獨建國聯盟) and general director of the march.
"We must unify to fight the PRC that encroaches on Taiwan," Lee added.
"There is still a long way to go before the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan. We should be patient and give Chen's government more time," appealed another leader of the event to the crowd.
Chen has been blasted for not insisting on the pro-independence stance of his party since taking over the presidency.
Yao Chia-wen (
Apart from Yao, two other senior advisers to the president, Lee Chen-yuan (李鎮源) and Ku Kuan-min (辜寬敏), participated in yesterday's event. National policy adviser to the president Huang Hua (黃華), Wu Shu-min (吳樹民) and Alice King (金美齡) were also present. King has caused controversy since defending the comic book On Taiwan and denying that she is an official of the ROC.
King candidly cast the ROC as "extinct" and for this, yesterday was regarded as a star by Taiwan independence supporters. Many participants swarmed toward King to shake her hand or to have their picture taken with her.
Some DPP lawmakers also joined the march.
The only Cabinet member to show up was Huang Tsung-le (黃宗樂), chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, but he didn't join the crowd. Previously, Huang and other Cabinet members were heavily criticized by opposition parties who said they had failed to remain neutral by participating in an anti-nuclear demonstration.
Chen Chin-chiung (陳金) and Cheng Kai-jen (鄭凱仁), participants in the event, blasted opposition parties, saying they had handicapped the Cabinet because they cannot face their failure in the last presidential election.
"Besides, pro-unification politicians brainwashed by the KMT cling to China because they expect benefits given by China," Cheng said.
The two also agreed with King. "The ROC simply doesn't exist anymore. Everybody [from the international community] has recognized the island as Taiwan," Chen said. "We should not deceive ourselves. A country's name is not so sacred that it cannot be changed."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique