Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and senior pro-independence advocate Lee Hung-hsi (
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said at a press conference that they hoped to hold the referendum jointly with the year-end legislative election, possibly with another DPP-initiated referendum on the recovery of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets.
"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) previously mentioned that he would like the nation to apply for UN membership under the name of Taiwan. His statement highlighted the legitimacy of doing so," Gao said.
Lee, seen by many as President Chen's mentor, said "two immutable facts" remained after Japan gave up sovereignty over Taiwan: there are two "Chinas" and Taiwan and China are two different countries.
All the talk about unification with China was unrealistic because after the People's Republic of China took over the UN seat, the Republic of China (ROC) no longer enjoyed recognition by the international community, Lee said.
"Taiwan has gone down the path of delivering a new constitution and correcting the nation's title," added Lee, who formerly served as Ketagalan Academy president and is now convenor of the government's New Constitution Workshop. "There is no turning back."
DPP Legislator Chen Tsiao-long (
"If we don't do this today, we will regret it in the future," he said.
The Referendum Law (
After passing the threshold, another 830,000 signatures have to be gathered within six months for a referendum to be held.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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