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`China' dropped from exam titles

The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan holds a press conference in Kaohsiung yesterday announcing a parade on Nov. 17 demanding an official name change for Taiwan. The parade is expected to attract 60,000 people. PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

The word "China" will be dropped from the titles of all government held exams, the Examination Yuan said yesterday.

The announcement comes as a pro-independence group begins preparations for a huge rally next year to press for changing the name of the country to Taiwan.

The Examination Yuan, which conducts written examinations for civil service jobs, said it wanted to use a less political term for its exam titles.

"Starting from next year, we will replace `China' with `our country' in all examination papers. For example, the exams on `China's Modern History' will be changed to `Our Country's Modern History,'" Examination Yuan Secretary-General Chu Wu-hsien (朱武獻) told reporters.

"This is because `our country' is a more neutral phrase. There is no political implication in the name change," he said.

Controversy over the name of the country has intensified since Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president in May 2000.

A pro-independence group led by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan, has been at the forefront of attempts to officially change the country's designation, a move Chen ruled out in his inauguration speech.

The alliance is planning to bring together 100,000 people at the plaza in front of the Presidential Office on May 11 next year to promote the "Call Taiwan Taiwan" movement, said Wang Kang-hou (王康厚), executive director of the alliance.

"Taiwan should be named Taiwan, and only when this goal is achieved can it truly enter the international community," Wang said.

At a press conference called by the alliance yesterday to stress that "Taiwan is this country's name," Huang Chao-tang (黃昭堂), one of the 14 conveners of the alliance, said the rally is aimed at raising Taiwan consciousness and making the world aware of the name by which "the people of Taiwan want to call their country."

Huang said that when 100,000 people speak out in one voice that they want their country's name to be "Taiwan" it will be an explicit and clear presentation of Taiwan's mainstream opinion. It will also serve as a sign of support for Chen, helping promote government policies such as the incorporation of a referendum law into the Constitution and rectifying the name of Taiwan, he said.

Lee is the general convener of the alliance, which was established by domestic and overseas pro-Taiwan independence groups in January this year.

The alliance also plans to organize a rally of about 60,000 people in Kaohsiung on Nov. 17 to promote the "Call Taiwan Taiwan" movement and a 10,000-person rally in Taipei on Jan. 1 to warm up the campaign for rectifying the name of Taiwan, Huang said.
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