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.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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