Taiwan need not explain moves toward reforming its Constitu-tion to Washington as such an act would be "shameful," Senior Presidential Advisor Koo Kwan-min (
"The Americans would not want their government to make such moves either -- they would feel that it was shameful," Koo said.
He made the remark while speaking at a campaign rally in support of David Huang (
"The Taiwanese people respect the US, but it is unreasonable that the US requires an explanation for moves to rectify the nation's name or to rewrite the Constitution," Koo said.
WASHINGTON EXPRESSES CONCERN
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said while taking questions during a daily press briefing on Monday that the US "appreciated President Chen's [Shui-bian (
Boucher said that Washington took those pledges very ser-iously, "particularly as they apply to this referendum on a new constitution."
Asked by reporters whether recent remarks that Chen made about his designs for constitutional change were a violation of his pledges, Boucher responded, "As far as whether any other ideas or proposals contradict that [the pledge] or not, I think he'll have to explain."
CHEN'S PLEDGES
In his inaugural address in May 2000 Chen pledged not to declare independence, not to change the name of Taiwan's government, not to add the "state to state" model of cross-strait relations to the Constitution and not to change the status quo on independence or unification through referendum.
Chen also promised that he would not seek to do away with the National Reunificaiton Coun-cil or the Guidelines for National Reunification.
"The US should be more understanding of Taiwan's situation and refrain from such meaningless moves," Koo said, calling on the US to be reasonable.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee was among the dignitaries who attended the rally for Huang.
LEE SPEAKS OUT
He took the opportunity to promote the name-rectification cam-paign, declaring that the Repub-lic of China (ROC) could no longer be used as the nation's official title.
"To continue to use `Taiwan, ROC' would be a stupid way to go. The ROC has already been conquered by the People's Republic of China [PRC]. If Taiwan calls itself the ROC, then it is the same as calling itself the PRC," Lee said.
Lee pointed to the Book of Exodus in the Bible to demonstrate his point, saying that the Israelites faced difficulties on their way to Canaan because they had forgotten their common faith.
"If Taiwan does not identify with itself, it will not have the spirit to fight for Taiwan," the former president said.
Lee also reiterated that the next three years were crucial to Taiwan on the diplomatic front.
He explained that the US would probably see shifts in foreign policy within the next three years, and that Taiwan had to take the opportunity to promote its agenda.
Lee said, however, that the most important task now was to secure a pan-green majority in the legislature in the Dec. 11 elections.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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