More than 100,000 people are expected to take to streets in downtown Taipei today to campaign for the change of nation's name from "Republic of China" (ROC) to "Taiwan" as well as the usage of Taiwan as the official title for the country's bid to enter the UN.
The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan, the organizer of the march, yesterday released the latest tally of the number of people signing up for the campaign drive, which might draw as many as 120,000 people from all over the country to the rally.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Supporters of 113 domestic and overseas groups will join the rally in front of the Presidential Office. The DPP and TSU, which have long been promoting Taiwan's sovereign status independent from China, have also mobilized more than 40,000 and 30,000 rank-and-file supporters respectively, party officials said.
Overseas participants from the US, Japan, Argentina, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa would also attend the rally.
Using the slogan that "our mother's name is Taiwan," the campaign advocates the abolishment of the use of "ROC" or "China" as a nomenclature representing Taiwan, and demands that the title of the country, company's names and the names of social groups using the word "China" should be replaced with "Taiwan" to reflect the reality that China, officially known as the People's Republic of China, does not govern Taiwan.
The alliance listed a total of 245 private groups, companies and institutions whose names need to be corrected including China National Petroleum Corp, China Steel, China Shipbuilding, China Airlines, the Chinese-language newspaper China Times, China Television, China Television Company, Farmers Bank of China and the KMT, whose full name actually translates as the "Chinese Nationalist Party" (中國國民黨).
The campaign also appeals to the government to use Taiwan as the official title for its overseas organizations, to apply for membership of the UN under the name of Taiwan.
It also asks the government to write a constitution for Taiwan rather than the outdated and much amended Constitution of 1947 currently in use, and change the nation's official name to the "Republic of Taiwan" or simply "Taiwan."
Marchers will gather in six locations -- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Taiwan University, the 228 Memorial Park, Chungshan Football Stadium, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Taipei City Hall -- at 11am and start the march at noon before reaching to the Presidential Office at 3pm.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
The DPP yesterday released a poll of public opinion on the nation's sovereignty according to which 63.2 percent of the public support the idea that Taiwan and China are "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait," and 70.3 percent agreed that a national plebiscite to be held to decide whether Taiwan should change its status quo or the nation's name.
The KMT criticized the campaign drive as advocating Taiwan independence and accused the DPP and TSU of being "historical criminals" and being "unethical" by trying to annihilate the existence of the ROC, which, it said, has existed since 1911.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS