Thousands took to the streets to pronounce their anti-independence stance yesterday after Saturday's march calling for the Republic of China (ROC) to adopt "Taiwan" as its official name.
Demonstrators in yesterday morning's event defended the ROC name, and activists in a separate march in the afternoon called on citizens to "oppose Taiwan independence in order to save Taiwan."
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The scale of yesterday's two rallies, however, was far short of Saturday's demonstration, which organizers estimate drew up to 150,000. According to the Taipei City Police Department, about 7,000 joined the morning rally, and over 3,000 participated in the afternoon march.
The crowd in the morning rally, most of whom were carrying ROC flags, gathered at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
Both Chiang Fang Chih-yi (
"Whoever said that the Republic of China does not exist anymore is an enemy of the state. We can never let other countries think that rectifying Taiwan's name is what the Taiwanese majority wants," Chiang said.
"The Republic of China lives on Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. It was established as the first democratic and free country in Asia through the efforts of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and many others. The country was established in 1911 and that is a historical fact," she said.
Yok said that he loved the Republic of China and those attending the march.
"No one here approves of rushing reunification. Those rushing independence are really rushing reunification," Yok said.
Meanwhile, the march in the afternoon was convened by the pro-communist Chinese Unification Alliance (
"We want to ask the government to drop the budget for military purchases and use the money for better welfare instead since China is really not an enemy. We also want a better economy," said Hsieh Hsiang-wen (謝向文), spokesman for the alliance.
The alliance also condemned what it sees as the US and Japan's manipulation of Taiwan, saying the two countries were trying to encourage Taiwan's independence and the separation of Taiwan from China.
Many high-school students, absent from most political activities in the country, attended the march. But when asked why they went to the event, many said they were urged to do so by their friends.
"We want to be sunny teenagers," said one student.
Another said, "A friend urged us to come so we came along. It's fun and my friends get to be together."
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS