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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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