The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to abandon the policy of maintaining the “status quo” and begin promoting the nation’s status under the name “Taiwan” after the loss of diplomatic ally El Salvador.
The party condemned China for its “malicious attempt” to suppress Taiwan and blamed it for “undermining the regional security and peace of East Asia” by manipulating other nations into isolating Taiwan.
By carrying out military drills around Taiwan, preventing the nation from holding the East Asian Youth Games and luring El Salvador to switch allegiance, China has proved that “there will be no end to its oppression and that no friendly gestures or promises from Beijing can be counted on,” it said in a statement.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration should abandon its foreign policy of maintaining the “status quo” and begin promoting the nation as “Taiwan” to differentiate itself from China, it said.
Moreover, it should work to normalize Taiwan as a nation by reforming the Constitution and supporting referendums to rename the nation, it said.
The NPP called on other parties to join it in promoting legislation to “normalize the nation,” including amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which would enable people to vote on issues, such as the national territory, national flag and national name.
“We believe the only way to safeguard our democracy and freedom, as well as Taiwan’s dignity, is to normalize the nation by rectifying our name to Taiwan and turning cross-strait relations into international relations through the power of the people,” it said.
Taiwanese do not fear and will not succumb to oppression, but rather will grow stronger in their convictions to prove Taiwan’s independence, it said.
“China’s oppressive tactics and continued attempts to bribe Taiwan’s diplomatic allies have infuriated all of us,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said in a Facebook post.
Tsai must readjust her policy of maintaining the “status quo” because the “status quo” has already been destroyed by China, he said.
“There is no need and makes no sense to continue to abide by this self-restricting policy,” he said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS