President Chen Shui-bian (
However, the TSU -- the DPP's tiny but critical ally -- vowed it will push for the passage of the referendum law in a bid to carry out Lee's appeal through a plebiscite.
Lee called for the rectification of the nation's name from the Republic of China to Taiwan and for the enactment of a new Constitution on Saturday.
Although the idea was welcomed by pro-independence groups, it has put the DPP in a difficult position as the party seeks to shun ethnic tension by sticking to the 1999 resolution.
The resolution states that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state whose name is the ROC. Any changes regarding this independent status quo must be determined by all people in Taiwan through a public referendum.
During his inauguration speech three years ago, Chen also pledged not to change Taiwan's formal name from the Republic of China, or endorse a referendum on formal independence so long as China has no intention to use military force against Taiwan.
While meeting with the party's staff in Taoyuan County, Chen said yesterday that the resolution has clearly indicated Taiwan's independent sovereignty and it has never been a part of China.
The president in the meantime lashed out at PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) when Soong said that Chen and Lee had reached an agreement over the issue during their meeting a week ago before Lee raised the idea in public.
The president said Soong was too "imaginative" because Chen's talks with Lee were centered on international affairs and the triangular relations between Taiwan, the US and Japan.
Besides drawing criticism from opposition groups, Lee's idea also triggered different responses from the pan-green camp.
TSU lawmakers called for legislation on a referendum law, a suggestion that the DPP has rejected for fear of breaking Chen's promise and angering Beijing and the US.
The TSU would back a referendum on politically sensitive issues, such as changing the country's name, but the DPP would only support a draft if it is not applied to issues related to national identity.
DPP legislative caucus leader Chen Chi-mai (
Regardless of the DPP's reservations, TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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