Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said that she will push for a national referendum to declare Taiwan a peaceful and neutral nation.
Lu said she chose yesterday to unveil her proposal because Aug. 14 was the 69th anniversary of the public announcement of Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces, which ended World War II.
The proposed referendum would allow Taiwanese to proclaim to the world that their country is peaceful and neutral, Lu said at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, which was also attended by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and other prominent party members.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
If Taiwan is declared a permanently neutral country, the tensions across the Taiwan Strait will disappear and the nation’s peaceful engagement with China will serve as a buffer for the US and Japan in their dealings with Beijing, she said.
With such a move, Taiwan would go from being a regional flash point to a trade and transportation hub, building its humanitarian efforts and high-tech sector to become the Switzerland of the Orient, she said.
She said she is now seeking support for the proposed referendum and hopes it can be held simultaneously with the 2016 presidential election.
Joined by Yu, former minister of national defense Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲) and former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Parris Chang (張旭成), Lu read a proclamation on peace and neutrality.
The group then shouted: “Formosa, Oriental Switzerland; Peace and neutrality to protect Taiwan.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it