The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the public to support its referendum on "rejoining" the UN and boycott the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) referendum on joining the world body.
The two referendums will be held together with the presidential election next Saturday.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) lashed out at President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for using the referendum to manipulate the presidential election and provoke the US, which has expressed its opposition to the DPP's pursuit of "name change via the referendum."
"The DPP referendum has brought danger across the Taiwan Strait and squeezed Taiwan's international space," Wu said, announcing the KMT's decision after a meeting of the Central Standing Committee at party headquarters.
The DPP referendum proposes joining the UN using the name "Taiwan," while the KMT initiative calls for rejoining the world body under the name "Republic of China" or any other "practical title" that upholds the nation's dignity.
Wu said that the KMT-initiated referendum was an expression of the public's desire to join the UN and other international organizations in a flexible and pragmatic way without damaging US-Taiwan relations.
Wu and KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (
"Although the KMT's version was presented by KMT vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (
While urging voters to support the KMT's referendum bid, Wu said the party would respect members who boycott both referendums.
"We understand and respect such a stance. They plan to boycott both referendums as a protest against the president's manipulation of referendums," Wu said.
In response to Chen's offer to decouple the referendums from the presidential election in return for lowering the voting threshold for referendums, Wu said the threshold was set by the legislature and the KMT would not respond to the president's unreasonable request.
Wu said the party was willing to review the Referendum Law (公投法) after the election, but not now.
The Referendum Law requires a 50 percent voter turnout -- or approximately 8 million voters -- for the results to be declared valid.
Wu also promised to continue pushing a KMT proposal called "Taiwanese People's Demand to Join the UN" in the legislature.
In response to the KMT's decision, the DPP legislative caucus yesterday urged the KMT and its supporters to respect the spirit of democracy and participate in both referendums.
"The KMT is more than welcome to encourage its supporters to support or veto either of the two referendums but, please, do not give up your rights for both," DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said at a press conference.
Lai said that the KMT's proposal had been endorsed by more than 1 million people and boycotting it would mean contradicting itself.
"You can vote no, but you should participate in the referendum. That is the message we would like to deliver to the KMT and its supporters," Lai said.
Meanwhile, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign team yesterday lambasted the KMT for its contradictory position and "two-faced tactics" on the referendum.
"On the one hand, it seems it is in favor of the referendum, but on the other, it is boycotting it. This is dishonest," Hsieh spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (
As a responsible party, the KMT owes the public a clear account on where it stood or it would be cheating its supporters, Cheng said.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling and Jimmy Chuang
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
RSS