President moves to squelch flag uproar

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the "national flag and official name of the country" both symbolize the country according to the Constitution and there is no room for debate.

Chen made the statement to ease the political fallout from Secretary-General to the President Chen Shih-meng's (陳師孟) controversial remarks that "the ROC flag does not equal the ROC."

"Serving as the head of state, my obligation and duty are to defend the country's dignity, sovereignty, and territory, and according to the Constitution, the president as well as the national flag all represent the country," President Chen said at a the opening ceremony of an e-commerce summit yesterday.

Chen stressed that blowing the issue out of proportion will not improve Taiwan's international competitiveness, especially when the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) just publicized a report that Taiwan has been ranked third in terms of global growth competitiveness.

"I hope that people will stop these unnecessary debates on the issue of whether the flag or the official name of the country are equal to the country," he said.

The president also commented on the highly conflicting issue of the claim of sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai Islands, saying that no matter how small the island is, Tiaoyutai is a part of the ROC.

"It is clear that we must maintain and defend our territory, including the Tiaoyutai Islands," Chen said.

"To create a consensus on this issue, the country needs all of its citizens to cooperate but we should also not allow meaningless conflicts to disunite the people of the nation."

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) asserted, during an interview with Japanese media last month, that sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai Islands belongs to Japan and his remarks provoked a great deal of controversy.

Meanwhile, Premier Yu Shyi-kun told lawmakers yesterday that the national flag symbolizes the country and the government should act in accordance with the Constitution.

"Only when the people find that the Constitution is inappropriate, then they may propose to amend it and change the national flag or even the official name of the country," Yu said when speaking to lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan.

Yu stressed that the government has no plan to propose a Constitutional amendment on the issue.

Chen Shih-meng told lawmakers during the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes Committee meeting on Monday that the issue of whether to change the official designation and flag of the country should be open for discussion as such an issue should not be considered taboo in a democracy. He said the ROC flag "does not equal" the ROC.

Chen's Shih-meng's remarks immediately sparked strong criticism from opposition lawmakers and also became an influential issue in the Taipei City mayoral election campaign.

Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has recently been accused of being disloyal by the president, urged the president to restrain his subordinates yesterday.

"While President Chen is busy attacking me on the national identification issue, I hope he will say something about Chen Shih-meng's remark, which seriously humiliates the country and offends patriotic people.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) said that Chen Shih-meng's remarks revealed the DPP administration's ignorance and added that the president should replace Chen Shih-meng, who is not qualified to serve as an ROC government official.