China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng’s (高志鵬) proposal that Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) be removed as the nation’s founding father is a move aimed at de-sinicization that threatens the “status quo” of peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Gao has proposed amendments to the National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act (中華民國國徽國旗法) and the Oath Act (總統副總統宣誓條例), saying that Sun’s status as founding father was “created” by former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to justify Chiang’s rule.
Taiwan’s heads of state should not be obliged to bow before a figure that is unrelated to Taiwan’s modern democratic society, Gao said.
TAO spokesperson An Fongshan (安峰山) yesterday told a news conference that the office is paying close attention to how the debate is presented in Taiwanese media, adding that such rhetoric threatens peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Sun was a revered forebear of China’s modern democratic revolution and his goal of unifying the nation and returning the “Chunghwa people” to a position of power should be respected and revered by all of Chunghwa descent, he said.
Commentators have noted that An did not refer to Sun as a founding father, but merely as Mr Sun.
The TAO has not commented on the DPP’s recent proposal to redraft a proposed bill on monitoring cross-strait agreements in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, by changing the terms “Taiwan” and “China” to the “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area.”
Taiwan and China are part of “one China,” and cross-strait relations are not on a nation-to-nation basis, An said, adding that China’s stance on Taiwanese independence has not changed and China’s interaction with Taiwan would continue to be based on the “one China” principle.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
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