In his new book, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that the “status quo” for Taiwan means “not belonging to China,” which is why he has never backed the movement for Taiwanese independence.
According to reports in the Chinese-language United Daily Evening News, in Last Days: My Life’s Journey and the Roadmap of Taiwan’s Democratization, Lee writes that Taiwan already enjoys de jure independence, and if the president allows the conflict between pro-independence and pro-unification camps to grow, it would be to the detriment of the nation.
The report quoted Lee as writing that with the first direct presidential election in 1996, Taiwan “shook off the yoke of foreign occupation.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
While under “foreign occupation,” many tragedies occurred — which should be properly addressed — but Taiwan must ultimately move beyond such sentiments, Lee wrote.
When a person arrived in Taiwan should not be the deciding factor in whether they are considered Taiwanese, and while history must be understood, Taiwanese must look toward the future, Lee wrote, according to the report.
Taiwan must shake off the old system, with its notions of “one China” and that the Republic of China (ROC) is a legitimate continuation of “China” from the Qing Dynasty, Lee wrote.
More than 80 percent of Taiwanese back maintaining the “status quo” between China and Taiwan, and this “status quo” is that Taiwan is independent of China, Lee wrote, according to the report.
The nation should participate in international affairs under the name of Taiwan, which should be the only point of concern, Lee wrote.
The debate over whether Taiwan is independent would only tear the nation apart if allowed to continue, and Taiwan need not make controversial comments on the matter, because it already enjoys de jure independence, Lee wrote, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Lee yesterday canceled at the last minute his appearance at a publicity event for the book at the Taipei International Book Exhibition.
The book was originally scheduled for publication before the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, but the date was pushed back due to concerns that it might influence voting, Metropolitan Culture Enterprise Co Ltd & Banner Publishing House (大都會文化事業出版社) president Lin Ching-pin (林敬斌) said, adding that the title of the book was chosen by Lee.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS