Comments by US officials on Taiwan's international status received a mixed response from independence activists, with some staging a protest outside the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday and others thanking the US government for telling the truth.
The Taiwan United Nations Alliance led a coalition of legislators and pro-independence groups in staging the demonstration in Taipei to protest against the US government's opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum plan.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (
PHOTO: AFP
Twu Shiing-jer (
"The referendum on UN membership is a giant step toward democracy and the United States must not bow to the unreasonable demands of China," he said.
Dennis Wilder, senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council, told reporters last Thursday that the statehood of Taiwan, or the Republic of China (ROC), is an undecided issue, and as such it is not qualified to be a member of the UN.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said on Aug. 27 that the US government opposes Taiwan's plan for a UN membership referendum because Washington views such activity as a move toward a declaration of independence for Taiwan.
In contrast to the protesters, the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign "thanked" the US government for pointing out the fact that Taiwan is not a state, but also criticized its opposition to the referendum plan.
Peter Wang (王獻極), head of the group, said at a press conference in Taipei that Taiwanese must wake up and realize that Taiwan and the ROC is not a state at the moment.
"The ROC was dead in 1949 when the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] lost the Chinese civil war and fled to Taiwan," Wang said.
"However, the Republic of Taiwan is yet to be born and Taiwan is not yet the name of the country. We must step up efforts to establish a Taiwan republic," Wang said.
Wang, however, said that the US government had no right to prevent Taiwanese from exercising their democratic rights.
To protest against US opposition to the UN referendum, Wang said his group would hold a rock concert on Friday evening at the 228 Peace Park.
On Saturday, the group will lead a march calling for the US to respect the right of Taiwanese for self-determination and to support the nation's UN bid.
The march will begin at 4pm at the intersection of Renai Road and Guangfu S Road near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and end at the AIT headquarters.
In related news, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The KMT's proposed referendum on UN membership is a false issue," Chen said.
"The KMT originally opposed holding a referendum concurrently with elections," Chen said.
"But now, it does not dare oppose plans for a referendum because they want to capitalize on the issue to help Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) win the presidential election," Chen said.
The president said he believed the pressure the KMT had received from Beijing over the UN referendum was no less than what he received from the US.
Chen was referring to a recent report published by the Chinese-language China Times claiming that Beijing had expressed concern over the referendum initiated by the KMT on whether to "rejoin" the UN and join other international organizations under the name ROC, Taiwan or another practical title.
Ma has denied receiving a letter from China expressing its dissatisfaction with the referendum proposal, adding that he did not feel any pressure from Beijing over the issue.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition