As the first DPP president, Chen Shui-bian (
Pro-unification supporters, in a demonstration they dubbed "I am both Taiwanese and Chinese," called on Chen to clarify his ethnic stance
"Chen has to identify himself as Chinese, otherwise he is not the president of the Republic of China [on Taiwan]," one demonstrator said.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-NEI, LIBERTY TIMES
Members of the group, which identified themselves as being "grassroots" KMT, also targeted Lee Teng-hui (
Marching though the streets of the capital from Ta-an Park to nearby the Presidential Office, they clutched placards indicating their Chinese nationalist sentiment. They insisted that all the people in Taiwan -- regardless of where they are originally from in China -- are "Chinese."
At the other protest -- which ran from the Chang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to Kategalan Avenue -- pro-independence activists said they wanted to remind people of their goal of "rebuilding the Taiwanese nation."
"Chen should not be president unless Taiwan is an independent state," protesters said.
Refusing to speak in Mandarin, the leader of this group, Fu Yun-chin (
With several taxis decorated with "nation-building" flags joining the demonstration, members of the group proclaimed that they were the "real supporters" of Taiwan independence.
Although the two groups demonstrated at different times and with extremely different appeals yesterday, they appeared to resemble each other in their expression of nationalism -- albeit of opposite natures.
One observer summed up the mood:
"With Taiwan in a constant face-off with China, most people paid attention to the "five no's" of Chen's inauguration speech -- which turns these two marginal demonstrations into nothing," he said.
The two extreme ideologies clashed only once yesterday afternoon. As the pro-independence supporters rallied in front of the Chang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a pro-China supporter waving China's national flag caused a fight between the two sides.
Police eventually extracted the man from the melee.
Inauguration day, however, has been marked by demonstrations -- whether it be by farmer's movements, by those against military involvement in politics, or reaction against "white terror" -- since a ban on them was eased in 1988.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary