Three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday backed the removal of obsolete lyrics from military songs, which they say blur the distinction between the government and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). They also proposed revising related laws to ban the use of national symbols by political parties.
Dressed in military uniforms, DPP legislators Cheng Kuo-chung (
The Ministry of National Defense recently decided to change one phrase of the military academy school anthems from "the party flag is flying" to "the national flag is flying." That decision drew criticism from KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民), who strongly criticized this action for being akin to "forgetting one's origins."
But the three DPP legislators gave the thumb's up to the ministry's decision, and suggested holding a contest to solicit up-to-date lyrics for military songs.
Cheng said that military school songs still use phrases like "win back China" and "consolidate Chinese souls with blood," which represent out-of-date thinking. Moreover, many government departments, including fire and police departments, still use the KMT's party emblems as their symbols, Cheng said.
Cheng said that removing out-of-date lyrics simply discards distorted views so that the songs match modern-day realities.
"If the military must sing, it should sing the songs with words that identify with the country -- otherwise people who sing these songs might have the impression that Taiwan still belongs to the KMT," Cheng said.
Cheng also suggested holding a contest to solicit brand-new military songs that would enhance soldiers' sense of responsibility and identification with Taiwan. He also urged the Ministry of Interior Affairs to amend the National Emblem Law (
"I once again call on the KMT to wake up from its dream of recovering the party-state," Cheng added.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
RSS