Taiwan has been an independent state for 54 years and its title should be the Taiwan Republic, a pro-independence organization said yesterday.
"We are calling on the opposition parties not to embrace the thighs of [fawn over] China, and for the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] government not to espouse the `Republic of China,'" said Peter Wang (王獻極), convener of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign.
Wang was speaking during a press conference marking the sixth anniversary of the "special state-to-state" dictum introduced by former president Lee Teng-hui (
PHOTO: WANG YIH-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The theory may be a small step for the former president, but it is a giant step for the Taiwan Republic and the two states refer to China and Taiwan Republic rather than China and Republic of China," Wang said. "We are dedicated to following in his footsteps and calling on the 23 million people of Taiwan to jointly accomplish the historic mission of changing the country's name to Taiwan."
Wang announced that his group would hold a flag-raising ceremony for the Taiwan Republic at 9am on Sept. 8 on Ketagelan Boulevard to celebrate the 54th anniversary of the inking of the San Francisco Peace Treaty to raise public awareness of the nation's identity.
"Taiwan became independent on Sept. 8, 1951, when 49 UN members signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty, in which the Japanese empire renounced its sovereignty over Taiwan after its defeat in World War II," Wang said. "The name of the country should be the Taiwan Republic and nothing else."
A candlelight gathering is planned for 7pm on the same day at Manka Park across from Lungshan Temple in Taipei City's Wanhua (萬華) District. Organizers hope to see a turnout of about 1,000 people at the flag-raising ceremony and 2,000 people at the evening event.
The group's short and long-term goals, Wang said, are to hold an inspection of the armed forces of the Taiwan Republic on Ketagelan Boulevard on the 55th anniversary of the peace accord next year and to see the president of the Taiwan Republic sign into law the Taiwan Republic Constitution on the day of his or her inauguration on May 20, 2008.
Among those supporting the group's goals are Presidential Office national policy adviser and lawyer Chuang Po-lin (莊柏林), DPP Legislator Wang To-far (王塗發) and campaign co-organizer Wang Li-tsu (王麗子).
Chuang said that China's "one-China" rhetoric has seriously jeopardized Taiwan's national interest and social security.
"Without extradition codes, we cannot bring back culprits committing hideous crimes here who elude the law by escaping overseas," he said. "With the `one-China' policy in place, China has been telling other countries to deal with them, not us, because they claim sovereignty over us."
Although Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign state, Wang To-far said that its biggest problem lies in the lack of a national identity.
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
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
‘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)