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Pro-independence group berates DPP, KMT candidates

An independence group yesterday asked the public to consider supporting an alternative presidential candidate should the candidates from the two big parties fail to propose a Taiwan-centered agenda.

Peter Wang (王獻極), head of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign, condemned the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) four presidential hopefuls, the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) -- who said he would not participate in the KMT primary and who has yet to clarify his presidential ambitions -- for showing reluctance in declaring their intention to change the country's name if elected president.

"They keep saying they love Taiwan, but how can we expect them to turn their words into actions when they don't even have the guts to answer our questions," Peter Wang said.

The presidential contenders have refused to respond to the group's inquiries about their position on name change.

Previously, the group had asked the six to make known their position on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) March 4 speech at the 25th anniversary dinner for the Formosan Association for Public Affairs in Taipei, that "Taiwan will say yes to independence. Taiwan will be correctly named, Taiwan will have a new constitution and Taiwan will develop."

Only DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) offered satisfactory answers on Chen's speech, Peter Wang said, adding that the group would continue to pressure the two parties' presidential aspirants to answer the rest of their questions, which include the nation's name and applying as "Taiwan" with the UN and the WHO.

"Chen made many promises when he was elected in 2000, but we are disappointed to see how little he has delivered since," he said, adding that Chen should "stop playing mediator with the DPP's presidential hopefuls" and instead focus his energy on encouraging the aspirants to come clean on these issues.

"It means nothing to us if Chen's favorite candidate wins the election and ends up like him -- lots of promises but little accomplished," he said.

Chang Jen-kuang, secretary-general of the Taiwanese Hakka Association of the World, said: "We don't need opportunistic flip-flopping over the political path the country will take. There is only one path -- the `Taiwan path.'"
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