Taiwan should vie to become the “Switzerland of Asia” as it pursues statehood recognition and the establishment of lasting peace across the Taiwan Strait, pro-independence activists said yesterday at a book launch in Taipei.
The activists made the remarks at the launch of a book on the subject written by Chen Hsiu-li (陳秀麗), who leads an alliance advocating for Taiwan to be recognized as a permanently neutral country.
The event was attended by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), long-term independence advocate Su Beng (史明) and former representative to Japan Lo Fu-chen (羅福全).
Lee sat in the audience for the duration of the three-hour event and although he did not deliver a speech, he did reveal to reporters on the sidelines of the event that he underwent surgery for skin cancer two weeks ago.
Pursuing peace and neutrality are the noblest things a country can do and should be Taiwan’s eventual goal, but that objective cannot be realized if Taiwan is not recognized as an independent country, Su said.
At the Taipei launch, the 96-year-old Su performed for the audience of more than 100 people, singing a song meant to encourage them to continue to fight for the nation’s independence.
Several famous vocalists, including Kuo Chin-fa (郭金發), a famous singer during the 1960s who sang in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), also performed at the event.
In addition to his signature song Hot Rice Dumpling (燒肉粽), Kuo sang Save the Earth (保護地球) in a bid to raise awareness for environmental protection.
Orchestra conductor Tseng Dau-hsiong (曾道雄) also attended the launch, where he emphasized the importance of culture and education in pushing for Taiwanese independence.
Tseng said he had once tried to write lyrics in textbooks saying: “Taiwan is a beautiful country,” but had not been allowed to do so.
“This happened even during the former Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] administration,” he said.
Former minister of defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), who introduced the policy of neutralizing the Taiwan Strait while in office, said Taiwan needs to raise its defense budget significantly if it is to pursue the goal of becoming a neutral country.
Taiwan’s defense budget is about 30 percent of the Swiss government’s budget, while Singapore, which like Switzerland adopts a neutralist policy in diplomacy, allots 25 to 30 percent of its national budget to defense expenditures, Tsai said.
Rex Wang (王世榕), who served as the nation’s representative to Switzerland under the DPP administration, said that Taiwan becoming a neutral country is feasible, but that achieving this status “depends on whether we are determined to pursue that goal.”
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS