Despite President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chanting the Taiwanese song in a press conference at the legislature, they urged the government to replace the current national anthem, which they termed a song of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), with Taiwan the Green.
"I don't identify with the current national anthem at all. There is no way that I want to sing it," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (
Chang Jen-chieh (
Taiwan the Green is a poem written by John Jyigiokk (鄭兒玉), a professor at the Tainan Theological College and Seminary. It was set to music by the Taiwanese composer Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然) in 1988.
The song conveys the message that Taiwanese will realize the dream of building an independent nation and has significant meaning for those who advocate Taiwan's democratization, Chai said.
Later yesterday, the KMT legislative caucus told a press conference that they opposed changing the national anthem, saying that the call to change the anthem was intended to shift the media's focus away from government scandals.
"What the national anthem is, is not important. The meaning of singing it is to bear the nation in mind," KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (
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