In response to the hotly contested issue of Taiwan's sovereignty, former president Lee Tung-hui (
"Taking a retrospective look at Taiwan's history, it is undeniable that Taiwan was taken by Allied forces when World War II came to an end," Lee said in a closing address at the Symposium on a New Constitution for Taiwan organized by Taiwan Advocates yesterday.
"The [Chinese] Nationalist government took over Taiwan under the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, Douglas MacArthur," Lee said.
The key question, Lee said, is how Taiwan should be positioned after the military occupation.
"Despite some asserting a theory of an undefined status or championing a self-initiated legalization of the Nationalist government since no objection was raised at that time, others also contend that the military occupation has never ended," Lee said.
"Another argument is that since the war ended and the military occupation lost its efficacy, the sovereignty of Taiwan should be returned to the hands of Taiwanese," Lee said.
Lee also made an impassioned plea to the global community not to brush aside the war-era problem.
"Taiwan's disputed status has seriously hindered Taiwan's development and restrained the right of the Taiwanese people to pursue a free, democratic country," Lee said. "Half a century on, the international community should no longer allow the remnants of World War II to obstruct the survival of a democratic and economically free nation."
Taiwan's disputed status as a result of World War II has serious repercussions for the region, he said. "The world should not allow this unsolved problem to jeopardize the stability and peace of Asia," Lee said.
This remnant of the war-time conflict is a serious question facing the entire world, he said.
"The world should not look on unconcerned at the Taiwan problem, letting a country of peace-loving people be bullied by hegemonic powers and watch as the Taiwanese are unable to establish their own nation," Lee said.
According to Lee, only by granting Taiwanese the right to establish an independent country could the risk factor in the Asia-Pacific region be erased.
Echoing statements by President Chen Shui-bian (
"The Republic of China [ROC] no longer exists," Lee said,"It'd be useless no matter how we try to fix the ROC constitution."
Other scholars at the seminar also stressed the urgency need to write a new constitution instead of making constitutional revisions.
Eugene Sullivan, a former federal judge in the US, said that Taiwan should rebuild a solid, new foundation for its democracy by drafting a new constitution. "Taiwan's democracy is like a house whose foundation is the ROC Constitution adopted in 1947. The foundation is weakened by defects although you tried to patch it up," Sullivan said.
Sounding a similar note, the Chinese dissident writer Cao Chingqing (
"Revising the old constitution is to accept the ROC framework. In that framework, Taiwan is deemed a continuation from the 1949 civil war," Cao said, "Only through a new constitution can people establish an identity of their own."
"Taiwan is moving from a de facto country to a de jure country," said Lee Hong-hsi (
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)