A proposal by online news outlet My-Formosa.com vice chairman Wu Tzu-chia (吳子嘉) and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Kuo Cheng-liang (郭正亮) — both DPP members — to revise the party charter’s clauses on Taiwanese independence drew mixed reactions.
“We are not trying to freeze the clauses on Taiwanese independence, we are not even proposing anything concrete,” Wu told reporters at the DPP headquarters in Taipei. “The party charter and many of the party’s major resolutions contradict each other and the charter denies the Republic of China [ROC], which is not in accordance with the political situation.”
“The political situation is that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was sworn in as the ROC president under the ROC Constitution — the party should catch up with the president and the government,” Wu said.
Photo: CNA
Article 1 of the DPP charter, passed in 1991, states that it is the party’s objective to establish a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan.
In 1999, the DPP adopted the Resolution on Taiwan’s Future, which says that Taiwan is already a sovereign and independent nation, and therefore any change of status must be decided by the people of Taiwan.
In 2007, the DPP passed the Resolution on Normalization of the Nation, which reaffirmed that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent state, but added that due to pressure from China, Taiwan could not sustain a role in the international community as a “normal nation,” and therefore the party would push for the “normalization” of Taiwan’s status in the international community.
Wu and Kuo said that as Tsai’s proposal to maintain the cross-strait “status quo” won overwhelming public support in the presidential and legislative elections in January, it is time for the DPP to catch up with mainstream public opinion and propose something new in the party charter.
The proposal asks the DPP’s Central Executive Committee to amend the party charter, Wu said.
Formally proposed by 32 party delegates and endorsed by 35, the proposal would be discussed in the DPP national congress next month.
Wu said that he is just a member so he and Kuo are only the planners of the proposal.
DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said that every party delegate has the right to make proposals and any proposal may be discussed in the party’s national congress.
“However, the core value of the DPP that the future of Taiwan should be decided by its people will absolutely not change,” Wang said.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), when asked to comment on the issue in a radio interview, said that while it does not hurt to have such discussions in the party’s national congress meeting, “the existing Resolution of Taiwan’s Future already includes the idea of maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo.’”
Former DPP legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) criticized the new proposal.
“Recently some people have been criticizing ‘independence’ as an extreme political doctrine, therefore the DPP should adopt a clause to maintain the ‘status quo’ and give up Taiwanese independence,” Lin said. “Why is every American saying that the US is an independent nation? Why are China, Japan, Germany and all nations believe they are independent nations?”
“Perhaps the truth is that every nation in the world follows some extreme political doctrine and Taiwan should be the only ‘non-independent’ nation in the world to be non-extreme,” Lin said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS