The 908 Taiwan Nation Movement, a local pro-independence group, announced yesterday that it will mobilize 3 million people to form a human chain around Taiwan on Feb. 28, 2008 to push for passage of a new "Taiwan Nation Constitution."
Wang Hsien-chi (王獻極), convener of the movement, told a news conference that last year's "1 million people human chain" activity helped President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) win re-election, but that it failed to realize the goal of enacting a new constitution for Taiwan and changing the nation's official title from the "Republic of China" to "Taiwan."
"We now plan to hold an even larger-scale activity to drum up support for our goal of writing a new constitution for Taiwan by mobilizing 3 million people to join hands to form a circle around Taiwan on Feb. 28, 2008 ahead of the next presidential election," Wang said, adding that the human chain activity will show the world the Taiwanese people's resolve to formulate a new constitution and establish a new "Taiwan Nation."
Following the end of the human chain activity, Wang said, his group will throw support behind the presidential candidate who explicitly backs its cause and promises to implement the new constitution if elected. The next presidential election is scheduled to be held in March 2008.
Wang said since two pro-unification Taiwan opposition heavyweights -- former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) -- made high-profile visits to China earlier this year, more Taiwanese people have leaned toward China.
Worse still, Wang said, the pro-China trend has become even more evident after charismatic Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) succeeded Lien as KMT chairman. Ma is widely seen as a shoo-in to win the 2008 presidential election.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
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