The Formosa Alliance plans to hold a rally in Taipei on Oct. 20 to protest against Chinese bullying and promote Taiwan’s right of self-determination.
The group yesterday also called for the public to support its proposed Taiwanese independence referendum.
The Referendum Act (公民投票法), amended in December last year, lowered the support threshold for referendum proposals and signature drives to pass, but limitations on constitutional amendments and the definition of a sovereign territory were left untouched, alliance convener Kuo Pei-hung (郭倍宏) said yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The problem with the definition of sovereign territory stems from the language used in the Constitution — “Sovereign territory of the Republic of China will comply with its inherent boundaries.”
The language tacitly includes China as part of the ROC’s sovereign territory, leading to the pro-independence camp — of which the Formosa Alliance is a part — seeking to remove that clause from the Constitution.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) support of such limitations deprives Taiwanese of their chance to determine the future of Taiwan, Kuo said.
The alliance plans to hold a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building to demand that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and DPP legislators push for another amendment to the Referendum Act to allow Taiwanese to vote for their own future, Kuo said.
“We hope everyone will stand with us and seize the chance for Taiwan to become a normal nation,” he said.
New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said his party believes that defined territory, the sovereignty of the nation and the name of the nation should all be issues that a referendum can be held on.
“These are rights that people are owed,” Huang said, adding that the NPP would be proposing an amendment at the next legislative session to address this concern.
Meanwhile, Sheng Ching-kai (沈清楷) the convener of the Tokyo Olympics for Taiwan Name Rectification Action Working Group, said that the group’s proposed referendum calling for Taiwan’s team to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics under the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei,” has collected 400,000 signatures.
Campaigners must collect more than 280,000 signatures in the second stage to launch a referendum.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
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