Activist Lin Yi-fang (林一方) yesterday announced that he would go on a hunger strike starting at noon today outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei to protest against the party caucus’ draft name changes to a proposed cross-strait accords oversight act.
The caucus last month said it would redraft the bill in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, replacing the terms “Taiwan” and “China” in a previous draft to “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area.”
Lin, a supporter of Taiwanese independence, said he is prepared to hold out as long as he can or until the party tables a draft act that is in accordance with international standards.
Lin said the DPP during the Sunflower movement in 2014 promised it would table a legislative act to enforce full transparency and oversight for inter-party negotiations, “but its draft is now using terms that reflect the spirit of the ‘one country, two areas’ concept mentioned in that detestable Constitution.”
“The DPP has achieved absolute power, winning both the presidential election and a majority in the Legislative Yuan earlier this year, and it should focus on realizing its ideals that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation, instead of bowing to the ‘convenience’ of government by using terms in line with the Constitution,” Lin said.
It is an indignity for the DPP to use the terms “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area,” Lin said, adding it would also be a final nail in the coffin of any future self-determined solution for Taiwan.
“Going on a hunger strike is denying the body sustenance, to express the reverence toward becoming independent; there are things that can be allowed, and others that cannot. I am Taiwanese and I will die before I bow [to Chinese oppression],” Lin said.
Meanwhile, several Taiwan independence supporters, including Taiwan Friends Association president Huang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) and World United Formosans for Independence chairman Chen Nan-tien (陳南天), met with DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Monday to discuss the issue, expressing opposition to the proposed name change, saying it would blur the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty if the party continued on its current course, adding that the change could lead to the mistaken notion that Taiwan is a part of China.
Ker said he acknowledged their concerns, but added that ultimately he was only a member of the party and that the content and name of the DPP version of the act would have to be decided upon by DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS