DPP's signature drive for UN poll passes first stage

A signature campaign launched by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to hold a referendum on pushing for the nation's participation in the UN under the name "Taiwan" yesterday reached the first threshold in the referendum process.

"We are all clear that normalizing the nation is our goal," DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, who initiated the campaign in February, told a press conference. "The happiness and future of the 23 million people in Taiwan depends completely on whether our nation can be normalized."

"The path to the normalization of our country is tough because we meet with China's oppression ... holding a referendum will be the most important approach for us to become a `normal' nation," he said.

Yu said once such a referendum was successfully held, the resolution of the Taiwanese people would be heard by the world, which would further contribute to Taiwan's UN membership bid.

"As I have said many times before, the internal competition within the DPP and the nation should be transformed into power to fight for the nation's dignity and status in the world," the DPP's likely presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said.

"The Taiwanese people's desire for Taiwan's dignity and its becoming a normal country is getting stronger and stronger," he said.

"It does not make sense that Taiwan is not a UN member. This is completely a result of political maneuvering," he added.

He said that although cross-strait tension may still make Taiwan's application for UN membership difficult, passing such a referendum can help the world understand `Taiwan' is the title of a nation.

The party submitted the 91,229 signatures it garnered to the Cabinet's Referendum Review Committee for verification yesterday.

The Referendum Law (公投法) says that the signatures of 0.5 percent of the nation's eligible voters, or 83,000 signatures, are needed for a referendum proposal to be established.