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Referendum on sovereignty not needed: activists

Independence advocates yesterday supported Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) assertion that a referendum on the nation's statehood is unnecessary because Taiwan's sovereignty is indisputable.

In a speech delivered at the National Press Club in Washington on Monday, Hsieh said the US should not be concerned that Taiwan might hold a referendum on declaring independence because Taiwan is already an independent country.

Former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培) agreed that a referendum on the matter was unnecessary, but said it was imperative to demand that the international community recognize Taiwan's sovereignty.

To that end, Wu said the nation's foreign policy required a complete overhaul. He said the government should focus on building grassroots support in countries such as Japan, Australia and the US for the recognition of Taiwan's sovereignty.

If Taiwan could gain diplomatic recognition from those countries, it would be much easier to join international organizations such as the UN and the WHO, he said.

Domestically, Wu said the government should work on forming a public consensus that this was the right path.

Wu made the remarks before attending the inauguration ceremony of the Alliance for Taiwan to Join the United Nations, a civic group dedicated to the nation's accession to the UN under the name "Taiwan."

Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧), president of the Ketagalan Academy, said that a referendum on the nation's statehood was unnecessary because Taiwan has been sovereign for half a decade.

Former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said Hsieh, as the presidential candidate of an independence-leaning party, dare not suggest that Taiwan was not independent.
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