Former Tainan county commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) yesterday said he was planning to hold a march of 100,000 people on May 20 to protest against the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” proposal.
The proposal, which was mentioned by former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) in his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in Beijing on Thursday, would have a devastating impact on Taiwan’s international status, he told a press conference.
“There is no better occasion than President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration ceremony for his second and final presidential term to voice our opposition against the proposal,” said Su, who has declared his intention to run for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chair.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
In the US-China Shanghai Communique of 1972, the US acknowledged a “one China” policy that stated that “all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China,” he said.
Since Wu made the comment, which he said had been authorized by Ma, in China, the proposal is likely to mislead the international community into believing that Taiwan is content to be a “regional government” under China, Su said.
Also, because Wu made the comment in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which has long been recognized by most countries in the world as the only legal government of China, Su added, most countries would likely interpret the “one country” as the PRC, not the Republic of China (ROC).
“To say that the ‘one country’ represents the ROC is self--deception,” Su said, adding that the “status quo” of cross-strait relations is “the ROC on one side and the People’s Republic of China on the other.”
The 55-year-old said the KMT is retreating from its previous position of “one China with different interpretations” and Ma’s change of position on the major issue had not been authorized by the public or backed by domestic consensus.
“The Ma administration has to realize that it cannot do anything it wants simply because Ma won a second term,” Su said.
Su said the march would be bipartisan and he called for anyone “who finds the elimination of the ROC intolerable” to participate in the march.
Various groups are also -planning to stage protests on the same day, including pig farmers, who are unhappy with Ma’s handling of the lifting of the ban on ractopamine, as well as pro-independence organizations and supporters, who are demanding Ma grant an amnesty to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption.
Su said he would talk to DPP interim Chairperson Chen Chu (陳菊) today about possible party support for the march, but would like to keep the amnesty issue out of the planned event, since opposition to the KMT proposal should be the main theme.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS