The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday reiterated its stance on protecting the nation’s democracy as it responded to the resignation of a campaign spokeswoman over a controversial remark about unification with China.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) former re-election campaign spokeswoman, Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), resigned on Friday after she came under fire for saying in an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Thursday that, in terms of national sovereignty, proposing unification with a hostile power such as China constitutes “treason.”
The remarks were seen as highly controversial, coming just days after the DPP rammed an anti-infiltration law through the Legislature on Dec. 31 that criminalizes political activities backed by hostile foreign forces such as China.
Photo: Su Fun-her, Taipei Times
Lin said in the interview that China had threatened Taiwan with use of military force, and that legislation passed last year meant there would be consequences for retired military officers who participated in political events in China.
The protection of Taiwan’s democratic systems and its way of life, and the rejection of any scenario in which the Republic of China would cease to exist, such as China’s “one country, two systems” formula, were matters of consensus among the nation’s 23 million people, the DPP said yesterday.
The DPP has walked hand-in-hand with Taiwanese for 30 years, fighting for political transformation, freedom from the one-party, authoritarian regime of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the establishment of a country free of fear, the DPP said.
Having become a mature democracy where freedom of speech is protected by law, Taiwan would not return to a period of “white terror,” it said.
The DPP’s passage last year of the Resolution on a Shared Journey With Society (社會同行世代共贏決議文) was in the spirit of the party’s 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future (台灣前途決議文), and reiterated its stance on national reform and the nation’s self-determination, it said.
No party, including the DPP, could make decisions on behalf of the public, it said.
Separately, Tsai said on Facebook that democracy has always been the party’s core value, and that it had never viewed differing political views as treasonous.
“Let me clearly state that our nation’s name is the Republic of China, and the sovereignty of that nation is in the hands of its 23 million people. Therefore, there is no issue involving the renaming of the country,” Tsai said.
Her most important responsibility as president is the defense of the nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and democratic way of life, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS