Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday proposed freezing the party’s so-called “Taiwan independence charter” to boost its chance of returning to power.
Ker, who convened the last of a series of meetings on the party’s China policy yesterday, proposed the idea unexpectedly in an article titled: DPP China policy with a new global perspective, but stressed that the views expressed in the paper were his own.
“The DPP has always upheld the Taiwanese identity and its core values, and there is no need to go back to working on the Taiwan independence movement. With that, I propose freezing the independence charter and bidding farewell to the old days so we can formulate a new cross-strait policy based on a new global perspective,” Ker wrote in the article.
If the party wishes to return to power, it has to show the voters, China and the international community that it is capable of managing cross-strait relations, he added.
“It’s a freeze, not an abolition. It could be unfrozen,” Ker said after the article was presented.
The so-called independence clause is an article in the party’s charter that calls for the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan. Beijing has always said that the independence charter was the primary roadblock to it engaging with the DPP.
DPP spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) told a press conference held after the meeting that the caucus whip’s opinion was his personal view and did not represent DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) position on the matter.
Su’s position on the matter remains unchanged: The chairman views Taiwan as an independent and sovereign country given the series of constitutional amendments, presidential elections and legislative elections that have taken place over the years, Chang said.
The independence charter was drafted when the nation was still under martial law, during a time when democracy advocates aspired to establish a new country, the spokesperson said.
Ker’s proposal immediately sparked heated discussion among party members and supporters on the Internet, with some netizens describing the proposal “a betrayal of the DPP’s founding spirit.”
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS