A great majority of Taiwan's citizens want their country to join the UN as an independent, sovereign nation. Yet the pan-blue opposition parties, and even the DPP government, continue to cling to the obsolete Republic of China Constitution due to short-sighted domestic politics. The ROC was expelled from the UN in 1971 and lost US diplomatic recognition in 1979, because it falsely claimed sovereignty over all China.
No major country recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state today. The name Republic of China implies Taiwan is part of a divided China or even an intent to eventually integrate with the People's Republic of China.
There are several advantages in adopting Taiwan as the formal name of the nation through enactment of a new constitution. First, this action will put an end to China's civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT. It will deprive the CCP of an excuse to annex Taiwan in order to settle the score with its ancient enemy.
The native Taiwanese and even the offspring of the Chinese refugees who escaped to Taiwan in 1949 had nothing to do with the war between the CCP and KMT.
Second, by rectifying the nation's name, the government can proclaim to the whole world that the 23 million Taiwanese have exercised their inherent right of self determination, which is guaranteed under the UN Charter, and have formally established a free and independent nation through direct election of its president and legislature and adoption of a new Taiwanese constitution.
Third, name rectification will delineate Taiwan's separate identity and remove an obstacle to Taiwan's efforts to join the community of nations as a new and equal partner.
Fourth, calling Taiwan by its right name will de-Sinicize Taiwan's culture, and help the residents to identify with, and pledge allegiance to, the Taiwanese nation.
Finally, name rectification is critical if Taiwan wishes to retain its sovereignty and democracy. The PRC is steadily building up its capacity to coerce Taiwan into submission through a multi-pronged blitzkrieg and concerted political warfare, degradation and hollowing out of Taiwan's economy, and psychological intimidation with the help of pro-unification media and pro-PRC elements of the political opposition. The military balance is shifting steadily in China's favor.
The Taiwanese must face this reality and decide what kind of future they want for themselves and their descendants: freedom and democracy or servitude under the CCP regime.
To keep their hard-won freedom, the Taiwanese must clearly show their determination, in words and deeds, that they will do whatever it takes to fight for Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy. This is the only way to ensure international support by fellow democracies such as the US and Japan.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, international politics has become fluid and unpredictable.
Taiwan must unequivocally and promptly consolidate its independent identity and demonstrate the resolve to defend Taiwan's freedom. This is the first prerequisite for friendly allies to come to Taiwan's aid in a crisis.
As our freedom-loving compatriots of The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan march in the streets of Taipei on Friday, the Taiwanese Americans here in the US applaud and support them. We join them in our hearts and minds.
Li Thian-hok is a freelance commentator based in Pennsylvania.
A Chinese diplomat’s violent threat against Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following her remarks on defending Taiwan marks a dangerous escalation in East Asian tensions, revealing Beijing’s growing intolerance for dissent and the fragility of regional diplomacy. Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday posted a chilling message on X: “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off,” in reference to Takaichi’s remark to Japanese lawmakers that an attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s survival. The post, which was later deleted, was not an isolated outburst. Xue has also amplified other incendiary messages, including one suggesting
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat,
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo). However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics and activists about Taiwan’s history of language repression, the major challenges of revitalizing Tai-gi and their policy recommendations. Although Taiwanese were pressured to speak Japanese when Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, most managed to keep their heritage languages alive in their homes. However, starting in 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enacted martial law
“Si ambulat loquitur tetrissitatque sicut anas, anas est” is, in customary international law, the three-part test of anatine ambulation, articulation and tetrissitation. And it is essential to Taiwan’s existence. Apocryphally, it can be traced as far back as Suetonius (蘇埃托尼烏斯) in late first-century Rome. Alas, Suetonius was only talking about ducks (anas). But this self-evident principle was codified as a four-part test at the Montevideo Convention in 1934, to which the United States is a party. Article One: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government;
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