The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall should be transformed into space dedicated to previous presidents and its plaque should be changed to read “Democracy Square,” former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.
Her remarks came after Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) was on Tuesday last week slapped by entertainer Lisa Cheng (鄭心儀) over the Ministry of Cultures’ policies to repurpose the hall.
Lu, as well as academics from the pan-blue and pan-green camps, yesterday attended a seminar, titled “On One China, Two Chinas and ‘One China,’ One Taiwan.”
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Taiwan could retain the strategic high ground if it cited unification of China under the Three Principles of the People to counter Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “five points” announced on Jan. 2, National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of National Development professor Ger Yeong-kuang (葛永光) said.
The principles embody Republic of China (ROC) founder Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) political philosophy and describe his vision for governance within the guidelines of democracy, nationalism and livelihood, he said.
The pan-green and pan-blue camps agree on how to sustain the existing system and framework of the ROC, he said.
In terms of long-term solutions, Ger proposed that the ROC and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) form a confederacy, with both holding seats at the UN.
Lu said that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had also proposed some form of political and economic “integration” in 2001.
However, Lu said that not only are there two Chinas — referring to the PRC succeeding the “former” ROC when it declared nationhood on Oct 1, 1949 — there are also two ROCs — one that was founded in Nanjing in 1912 and the other after the general elections in Taiwan in 1996.
The ROC after 1996 is different from the the one founded in 1912, she said.
Regarding cross-strait relations, Lu suggested that instead of thinking about top-down relations, the problem should be considered in a manner of how both sides could coexist.
Coexistence through a confederation, a federation or considering Taiwan and China as two districts or two nations would require creativity, as well as communication and mutual trust, she said.
“Perhaps approaching the issue from the concept of ethnic Chinese (zhonghua minzu, 中華民族) would be more acceptable for all parties involved,” Lu said, adding that there can be many nations and governments formed by people from the same ethnicity.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
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