Taiwanese must discard the imposed colonial regime of the Republic of China (ROC) and establish a state of “Taiwan” that can protect the nation from Chinese invasion, Sovereign State for Formosa and the Pescadores Party Chairman Cheng Tzu-tsai (鄭自才) said on Monday.
He had to speak up on the issue of Taiwanese sovereignty and Taiwan’s international status after former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and several pro-China academics wrote about disputes in school textbooks dealing with Taiwan’s history, Cheng said.
“It is a fact that Taiwan remains under its ‘undetermined status,’ which is well-known in the international community,” Cheng told a seminar at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
“The allies after World War II did not ‘return’ Taiwan to be ruled by Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] regime. It was a fabrication about the KMT’s claim over Taiwan’s retrocession to China,” he said.
The best recourse for residents of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands is to follow the international accords in the post-World War II period on decolonization, and hold a plebiscite on self-determination to achieve statehood, as had happened in many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific, Cheng said.
Ma and pro-China academics have written letters criticizing two publishing houses over textbooks that mention the “undetermined status of Taiwan,” which Ma said was “nonsense.”
Cheng provided photocopied materials and historic documents from US and other nations to support his claim that the Allies had only given temporary custody of Taiwan and Penghu to the KMT regime, while the legal status was not spelled out, and the residents have the right to a plebiscite for self-determination.
He said that Japan signed the 1951 San Francisco Treaty only renouncing all right, title, and claim to Taiwan and Penghu without explicitly deciding on the sovereignty status of the two territories.
Taiwan historian Huang Sheng-feng (黃聖峰) said that many Taiwanese independence advocates are unhappy with the stance taken by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of maintaining the “status quo” by upholding the ROC political framework, which would mean Beijing can lay claim to Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.
“The best recourse is to follow the international laws and conduct a plebiscite for self-determination, by which the people of Taiwan and Penghu can declare to the world their decision to become a new Taiwan nation. This is the way for us to achieve statehood, and deter military invasion and annexation by China,” Huang said.
Cheng, 82, is a senior figure in the Taiwanese independence movement.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS