At yesterday’s opening ceremony for his Taiwan New Constitution Foundation, Taiwanese independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said that a new constitution is needed to give Taiwanese a sense of nationhood.
The “status quo” in Taiwan’s relationship with China is disadvantageous to Taiwan, Koo said, adding that through the foundation, he would promote the drafting of a new constitution.
National Taiwan University honorary professor of law Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧) likened the Republic of China Constitution to Taiwanese folk monster Moxina (魔神仔), which legend says dwells in the wilderness and causes trouble and confusion for people who come near.
Photo: CNA
The Constitution is meaningless, but causes all sorts of problems for Taiwan, he said.
Several prominent Taiwanese independence supporters attended the opening ceremony, including former premier William Lai (賴清德), Taiwan New Century Foundation chairman Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志), Taiwan Forever Association president Jerry Cheng (鄭文龍), New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), Social Democratic Party convener Fan Yun (范雲) and Taiwan Radical Wings Chairman Chen Yi-chi (陳奕齊).
The idea of drafting a new constitution tailored for Taiwan has been publicly discussed for more than a decade, Koo said.
Taiwan’s relationship with China and other countries is unstable, but at the US’ behest, presidents have been compelled to maintain the “status quo,” which has limited the nation’s participation in the international community, he said.
Taiwan is qualified to join the UN, but is prevented from doing so by the “status quo,” and only had to leave the international organization because Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) refused to participate alongside Beijing, he added.
Nevertheless, Taiwan has made outstanding achievements and contributions worldwide, Koo said, adding that a new constitution should be drafted so that the nation can formally participate in international organizations.
“China’s actions toward Taiwan are increasingly unreasonable and without consensus, which is causing change in Taiwanese society,” he said, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) losses in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year were due to its failure to address public dissatisfaction with the “status quo.”
Despite the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington’s main focus has always been its relationship with China, Koo said, adding that Japan has had the same priority.
“Taiwan is progressing every day. What is the meaning of [the US telling Taiwan to] maintain the ‘status quo?’” he said.
The DPP has long advocated for the formulation of a new constitution, Lai said, citing former Presidential Office adviser Peng Ming-min’s (彭明敏) platform when he ran for president in 1996.
Then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2004 called for a referendum on the issue of a new constitution and other parties have since then appealed for a new constitution, he said.
“Unfortunately, advocacy remains stuck at the point of advocacy, opinions remain simply opinions. The issue has not developed to the next step,” Lai said.
“Seeing the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation being formally established today, I personally respect Koo Kwang-ming greatly for his willingness to put his time and money into it,” he added.
A new constitution tailor-made for Taiwan is needed, because the current one was written in China and not with Taiwan in mind, Lai said, adding that Chinese values represented by the Constitution often conflict with modern Taiwanese values.
Although the Constitution was amended in 1996, a number of problems have emerged since then that have not been addressed, he said.
Taiwan must solve the issue of being an unrecognized nation, but this cannot be solved by one party alone, Lai said, adding that the nation’s political parties have not formed a culture that prioritizes national interests.
A new constitution could bring Taiwanese together, without which the nation cannot progress, cannot overcome failure in the international community and cannot face China, he said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS