Fri, Sep 24, 2004 page3

• DPP charter change proposal an effort to ease tensions

  RESPECT The DPP is trying to assure people that it is not a party of ethnic confrontation by introducing a resolution to its charter that would defend ethnic diversity

  • By Jewel Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Academics and social activists yesterday expressed support for a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) resolution aiming to resolve ethnic tension that is claimed to have escalated since the presidential election, but they also said the resolution was too abstract and did not cover enough ground.

  The Resolution on Ethnic Diversity and National Unity will be passed at the party's national convention on Sunday. Yesterday, the DPP held a forum on the text of the resolution to gather expert opinion that might make the resolution more comprehensive.

  "This resolution not only signals a changing DPP but also aims to tackle sensitive but unavoidable issues on this island, namely long-standing ethnic conflict and confused national identification," DPP Ethnic Affairs Department chief Yang Chang-cheng (楊長鎮) said. "Although it is a very difficult task, the DPP is willing to be at the forefront on these issues."

  Yang said the DPP realized that an era of opposition and hostility had to come to an end and that an era of reconstruction had arrived, which upholds the values of respect and mutual tolerance between ethnic groups.

  "The past integration policy is not only wrong but also obsolete," Yang said, adding that the resolution was willing to inform DPP members that new generations of Mainlanders should not be blamed for the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) past crimes and that any discriminatory actions or words should be condemned and forbidden.

  The resolution also declares that careful reflection on political and ethnic persecution commit-ted throughout Taiwan's history is the key for the public to move on and create a better future.

  It also places emphasis on establishing Taiwan as the center of national consciousness and forging a united identity on the basis of a civic consciousness.

  Isak Afo (以撒克阿復), an Amis Aboriginal commissioner with the Council of Indigenous Peoples and DPP member, said he was happy to read the resolution but also hoped to see more concrete material on Aboriginal self-determination and compensation for land stolen by Han people over the years.

  Peace Foundation president Chien Hsi-chieh called on the DPP to listen more closely to the concerns of each ethnic group and try to persuade rather than force people to accept the resolution.

  "Otherwise, it will only be viewed as a political statement rather than as a document of insight by non-DPP supporters or non-Hoklo groups," Chien said.

  Emile Sheng (盛治仁), an associate professor of political science at Soochow University suggested the DPP to review the contents of the resolution in the thinking of dealing with the "sexual harassments," stressing that it is important to care about the listeners or viewer's feelings when drafting such a resolution that declares the healing effectiveness.

  Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a professor at Tamkang Univer-sity's department of public administration, urged for more detail in the description of Aboriginal and Hakka rights instead of treating the groups as "exotic decorations" whenever people in power appeal to ethnic diversity.

  DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday released a survey conducted by the party, which found that the public is united in the desire to solve ethnic problems. This, he said, encouraged the DPP to dedicate itself to ethnic equality and a united national identity.

  The survey found that about 52.8 percent of those polled thought the party's new resolution showed the party's sincerity in reconciling ethnic tension and distrust, while 88.7 percent agreed that people should tolerate and respect different national identification, whether that be with "Taiwan" or the "Republic of China."
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