Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday said they would respect a call by former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) to consolidate opposition against unification with China.
In a widely publicized address on Sunday, he said advocates of Taiwanese independence should join forces with supporters for the Republic of China (ROC) government on Taiwan.
“The two should together oppose cross-strait unification and extreme unification factions to ensure Taiwan’s survival,” Hsieh said in a speech at an event organized by the Taiwan Shadow Government, an organization he heads.
Citing statistics showing that as much as 75 percent of the public recognized themselves as Taiwanese, Hsieh said it was a fact that Taiwan and China are separate countries. This recognition is basically undisputed by younger Taiwanese, he said.
It was not “idealistic enough” simply for independence supporters to back this goal; instead, people should think carefully about the direction they want this country to take, he said.
“Not only should we want to become a sovereign country, but our country should be one that is beautiful and great,” he said.
There should be a high standard of liberty, a low income gap and a clean environment, he said.
However, to establish this “normal functioning country,” a consensus must be achieved between the DPP and the majority of Taiwanese who want to see the “status quo” maintained, he said.
Their combined backing could account for up to 70 percent of public support, he said, giving this group an enormous advantage over the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
“Taiwan is in a real danger of being unified with China soon,” he said.
The solution was not limited to how many seats the DPP won in elections, but rather how to “organize these [forces] … to have the ability to solve this issue,” he said.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the party respected Hsieh’s viewpoint and it was also searching for a consensus.
DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said the party’s position was outlined in its “Resolution for Taiwan’s Future,” which states that the nation’s future must be decided by Taiwanese themselves through a referendum.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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