Both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday vowed to continue pushing for their versions of a UN referendum despite discouraging remarks by the US on Thursday denying Taiwanese statehood.
Party heavyweights from the two parties joined in their condemnation of US senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council Dennis Wilder's statement that Taiwan is "not a state."
"Taiwan is definitely a nation. If over 60 percent of the people support Taiwanese independence in the referendum, the world will recognize Taiwan. Only the referendum can save the country," Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday after attending a party event in Taipei.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Yu said the DPP's UN referendum bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" was in preparation for the party's intention to hold a referendum on Taiwanese independence. He then lashed out at the US for being an "irresponsible country" that promotes democracy and freedom but opposes Taiwan's right to hold referendums.
In response to the US' opposition to the UN referendum bid, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (
"The KMT will push for its version of the UN referendum bid regardless of US and Chinese pressure. Even if the DPP withdraws its version, the KMT will continue in its efforts," KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday blamed the strong US reaction on the DPP's attempt to push for the bid to enter the UN under the name "Taiwan," arguing that it was still possible for the country to be recognized in the international community under the name "Republic of China (ROC).
"The US treats the ROC as a foreign government in the Taiwan Relation Act (
Ma's remarks drew harsh criticism from the DPP's Frank Hsieh (
"Ma has previously said that Taiwan has political sovereignty. His remarks highlight his lack of faith in himself and the country," Hsieh said.
"Taiwan has its own judicial system, budget, army and legislature, and it elects its own president. Of course it is a nation," he said.
The Government Information Office (GIO), meanwhile, launched a Web site promoting the nation's UN bid yesterday.
"We welcome everybody who cares about this issue to visit the Web site and show their support," Cabinet spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said. "The site offers a little game and whoever plays it the most will win a gift from the GIO after the activity concludes on Oct. 1."
Among the prizes are an iPod, two iPod nanos, three New York Yankee pitcher Wang Chien-min (
In addition to online games, visitors to www.taiwanunme.tw/ch can access all related documents, such as the history, news articles and analysis concerning Taiwan's UN bid over the years.
Shieh said the government has spent NT$20 million (US$610,000) abroad promoting the UN bid and NT$830,000 domestically.
"We have a NT$30 million budget for this year and we will make every penny count," Shieh said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
RSS