President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the call in his opening speech to the 32th annual meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations (WFTA), which began yesterday in Brisbane, Australia. Chen delivered his address via a live video link from the Presidential Office.
WFTA, which unites overseas Taiwanese communities, has been dedicated to the promotion of Taiwanese national identity and the advancement of international support for the right of the Taiwanese people to establish an independent country since the organization was established in 1974.
In order to achieve its objective of Taiwan Independence, WFTA and other pro-independence organizations have lobbied the the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to change the country's official name from the "Republic of China" (ROC) to "Taiwan."
Chen, however, told the WFTA members that, "The biggest challenge Taiwan faces today is not which name is used but that China has been doing whatever it can to deny the fact that Taiwan is an independent country and to deprive Taiwan of the rights an independent country is supposed to have."
The tactics used by China were highlighted in the Pentagon's recent report, 2005 The Military Power of the People's Republic of China, Chen said, including its military threats, efforts to interfere in Taiwanese politics and efforts to prevent his re-election.
"Simply speaking, except for its traditional military threat, China has reinforced its `united front' tactics against Taiwan, attempting to divide the Taiwanese and then annex Taiwan," he said.
What Taiwan needs to do is to consolidate its people's psychological defenses, he said.
"We need to build a consensus about the country's future development. We also need to achieve a common position on cross-strait policies," Chen said.
"As long as we can unite and keep the same pace, we won't be afraid of the Chinese `united front' tactics and we can protect the sovereignty of Taiwan," he said.
Chen reiterated his two theories of the ROC's history and called on WFTA members to embrace them.
The first theory is "Four States' theory that says the nation's first stage was the establishment of the ROC in China in 1912. The second stage was when the ROC moved to Taiwan in 1949. Lee Teng-hui's (
The nation entered the fourth stage,"the ROC is Taiwan," after the 2000 presidential election and the first transfer of power.
Chen outlined his second theory, the "Three Stages" theory, that states that the ROC is an independent country, its sovereignty belongs to the 23 million Taiwanese and that any change of Taiwan's future can only be decided by its people.
The president said that the "Four Stages" theory represents the history of the country and the "Three Stages" theory stresses the country's future.
He said the two theories should not be treated separately but as a whole.
"In order to unite Taiwan and to build the common consciousness of being a new country, I hope the `Four Stages' theory can be understood and accepted," Chen said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting