Taiwan must at times stand up against the US government and make it clear that enacting a new constitution and changing the nation's name is a matter of life or death, panelists attending a forum in Taipei said yesterday.
National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Mark Chen (
"We don't always have to be well-behaved," he said. "Sometimes we must be bad."
Chen was one of the panelists attending the second session of a forum coordinated by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) and Taiwan Advocates.
The forum, titled "The Difficulty and Breakthrough of Enacting a New Constitution," was organized to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of FAPA.
The forum's first session focused on domestic problems related to enacting a new constitution, and the second session discussed international complications.
Chen said that the nation faced opposition at home and from the international community on the issue of a new constitution.
While China considers Taiwan a "domestic matter," it often pressures the US government to pressure Taiwan over any steps to normalize the nation.
Taking the government's recent effort to change the names of state-owned institutions as an example, Chen said the US should worry more about China's military buildup and "Anti-Secession" Law rather than Taiwan's "internal affairs."
Chen conceded that it was more difficult to change the name of China Airlines because it involves aviation rights.
As Taiwan faces the threat of China, Chen said it is important to let the US government know that Taiwan has its own national interests and that it is a matter of life or death when it comes to changing the country's name and enacting a new constitution.
"Taiwan means a lot to the world," he said. "We shall never bow to any pressure and shall stand up against those who try to falter our effort."
Describing the US government as a country that "bullies the kind and fears the evil," Reverend William Lo (
"We must sometimes say no to the United States," he said.
Lo said it was necessary to change the nation's name because Taiwan and China are two different countries and added that the Taiwanese people have the absolute right to determine the name of their country.
The international community's appeasement policy is partly to blame, together with government workers' use of terms such as "sino" to describe relations with other countries, he said.
Lo proposed that government workers get used to using the name "Taiwan" by using it in daily life, including writing "Taiwan" in all capital letters on the cover of envelopes rather than the "Republic of China" or "ROC."
He also said they should always refer to the country as "Taiwan" and demand a correction when any country or international media used a different name.
Lo Chih-cheng (
"It is time for the US government to examine the Shanghai Communique, which is not only obsolete but also runs counter to reality," he said, referring to the 1972 accord, in which the US government acknowledged "one China" but did not clearly state which side represented that China.
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