The pro-Taiwanese independence Formosa Alliance (喜樂島聯盟) yesterday started a new life as a political party and announced that it would take part in next year’s presidential and legislative elections.
The alliance was established in April last year to campaign for a Taiwanese independence referendum.
At a news conference in Taipei announcing its reorganization into a political party, the Reverend Lo Jen-kuei (羅仁貴) said the purpose of the party is not to sow division in the pan-green camp, but is for people who are dissatisfied with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and looking for “better options” in the elections on Jan. 11 next year.
Photo: CNA
The party plans to field at least 10 legislative candidates, Lo said, but added that it has not made any plans to nominate a presidential candidate.
Lo was elected chairman by alliance members, who also elected 15 executive members.
Lo appointed National Dong Hwa University professor Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒) as the party’s deputy chairman.
Lo said that being a party chairman had not been part of his life plan, but he decided to “go all-out” because of the ideals he shared with the late reverend Kao Chun-ming (高俊明) of the Presbyterian Church.
As one of the signatories of the Human Rights Declaration issued by the church in 1977, Kao, who passed away in February, believed that Taiwan’s future should be decided by all Taiwanese, Lo said.
“Taiwanese have expectations from us to make Taiwan a nation with statehood, human rights and dignity — a normalized country, and the party will not let them down,” Lo said.
Expressing concern that the DPP would not fare well in the elections, he said that if the pan-blue camp obtains a legislative majority, it would be “Taiwan’s greatest disaster yet.”
He called on people who “detest the DPP” and those who “truly love Taiwan” to vote for the Formosa Alliance, so that the party could provide checks and balances at the Legislative Yuan.
Asked if the party would support President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-election bid if she ran on a joint ticket with former premier William Lai (賴清德), Lo said it would welcome a Tsai-Lai ticket if it could get them elected, as it would be beneficial for Taiwanese.
However, the Formosa Alliance would only lend its support to Tsai if her vision aligned with that of the party, he said, adding that if she continues to “oppress and limit those who truly care about Taiwan,” it might not back her.
Citing the DPP’s indifference toward a referendum last year that asked people if they agreed that the national team should compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name “Taiwan” rather than “Chinese Taipei,” Shih dismissed the DPP as a “lousy agent” for Taiwanese independence that exploits the brand, but is not doing anything to achieve the goal.
It was “outrageous” for the DPP to change the rules for its presidential primary and pass amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) decoupling referendums from national elections, he added.
Separately, former premier Yu Shyi-kun of the DPP said pro-independence parties should act in the nation’s best interests and work toward making Taiwan a normalized country.
Taiwan’s fate hinges on next year’s presidential election and he hopes the Formosa Alliance will not act in a way that runs counter to its vision, he added.
Additional reporting by Huang Hsin-po and Peng Wan-hsin
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS