The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday said it would propose constitutional amendments to remove the “one country, two areas” article from the Constitution, abolish the Taiwan Provincial Government and lower the minimum voting age from 20 to 18.
An amendment made to the Constitution in 1991 “to meet the requisites prior to national unification” recognizes the “Chinese mainland area” as opposed to the “free area,” and both areas make up the Republic of China.
“The constitutional identification of ‘one country, two areas’ is the biggest joke in the history of constitutional democracy, because the idea goes against the principle of popular sovereignty, which states that the authority of a nation is created and sustained by its citizens,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“Taiwan is a sovereign nation with a population of 23 million people and there is no ‘Chinese mainland area’ in this nation,” he added.
Surveys have shown that more than 70 percent of Taiwanese believe that the “cross-strait relationship” is international in nature, and abolishing the “one country, two areas” article is key to normalizing Taiwan’s status and dealing with the notorious legacy of the now-defunct National Assembly, Huang said.
Abolishing the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) is a further step that needs to be taken toward the normalization of the nation, he added.
Lowering the voting age is a global trend to encourage young people to exercise their political rights, but the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) unreasonable boycott of a proposal to lower the voting age last year obstructed a potential youth empowerment and constitutional amendment, Huang said.
“There are 890,000 people aged between 14 and 16, and they can cast their first ballot in the next presidential and legislative elections in 2020 if the amendment can be put to a referendum and approved in the next nine-in-one elections in 2018,” he said.
The constitutional changes in 1998 stripped the Taiwan Provincial Government of its authority, essentially making it a nominal institution, but it still costs the nation millions of New Taiwan dollars every year, the NPP said.
Asked whether the proposed amendments would be associated with Taiwanese independence and upset China, Huang said domestic reform has to be undertaken independent of other nations’ opinions, even though attaining international recognition is an important step toward the normalization of Taiwan.
NPP Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said no politician, regardless of their affinity, would be willing to sacrifice Taiwan’s democracy, liberty and human rights, and no one would accept China’s interference in Taiwan’s constitutional reform.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei