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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
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