The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) national congress yesterday passed the party's "Normal Country" Resolution, maintaining the version approved by the party's Central Executive Committee on Thursday while rejecting a proposed amendment that stressed the need for the nation to change its official title to "Taiwan."
The final resolution stipulates that the nation should "accomplish rectification of the name `Taiwan' as soon as possible and write a new constitution." It also highlights the need for the nation to hold a referendum to "emphasize Taiwan's independent statehood at an appropriate time."
The congress passed the resolution with applause rather than resorting to a vote.
The congress, however, rejected a proposed amendment initiated by former chairman Yu Shyi-kun, who sought to include a clause that read: "Our nation should write a new constitution and correct its official title to `Taiwan.'"
Yu's proposal, endorsed by 37 congress representatives, only won 43 affirmative votes out of 328 representatives present at the congress.
Another similar proposed amendment endorsed by eight other representatives was also rejected by the congress as it only garnered 30 affirmative votes.
Yesterday's congress, titled "Normal Country. Happy Taiwan," was chaired by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Yu did not attend yesterday's congress.
A total of 328 out of 483 DPP representatives participated in yesterday's assembly.
The congress held a heated debate over whether to approve the executive committee version or to accept Yu's proposal.
Many representatives competed for the floor to defend or speak against Yu's proposal.
Supporters of the executive committee version included Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) and Council of Hakka Affairs Vice Minister Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩).
Yesterday's session ended two hours earlier than scheduled because President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) decided not to attend. Both of them were scheduled to deliver speeches.
Yeh, who doubles as Hsieh's campaign director, announced Hsieh's decision minutes before the congress approved the executive committee version.
Yeh said that Hsieh had been pondering how to strike a balance between national security and the people's interests, adding that he had carried an "unbearable burden" during the party's recent wrangling over the resolution.
"The presidential candidate is very sad and worried [about party unity]," she said.
"He is also suffering from a serious cold," she said.
Hsieh's decision caught the party off guard because the party congress usually serves as a grand campaign event for its presidential and legislative candidates.
"Everyone showed great tolerance after the [presidential] primary. The party has reached a point where its members should stay united," said Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), Hsieh's campaign manager, when approached by reporters at the congress."Taiwanese consciousness has reached a peak after the rally [in support of the government's proposed referendum on seeking UN membership using the name `Taiwan'] on Sept. 15, but then came the problem of the resolution," Lee said. "[Former] premier [Hsieh] is very worried," Lee said. "He urges everyone to stay calm and rethink [the resolution issue] ... and to postpone the campaign event to some other day."
Hsieh's spokesman Chao Tien-lin (
After Yu's proposed amendment failed to win the support of the congress, DPP Ilan chapter Director Sung Hsiu-shu (
Earlier yesterday, DPP Chiayi chapter Director Chen Mao-sung (陳茂松), Kinmen chapter Director Chen Tsang-chiang (陳滄江), Taoyuan chapter Director Hsu Chung-wen (許崇文) and Sung staged a protest outside the congress.
Chen Mao-sung held a poster demanding a vote by roll call on Yu's proposed amendment during the congress, threatening to take joint action with other chapter directors to shut down all DPP district chapters.
"If the party does not dare to [specify] the name [for the country to pursue as] `Taiwan' in the resolution, how can we seek UN membership using the name `Taiwan?' Does this mean that the party is deceiving the public like [Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate] Ma Ying-jeou (
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS