Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee said the nation's territory defined in the Constitution no longer reflected the status quo, and the political system laid out in the Constitution was not made for Taiwan because "Taiwan province no longer exists."
The ex-president said the solution for Taiwan would be to create a new Constitution in which Taiwan was an independent country.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"I was criticized [during my presidency] for amending the Constitution too many times so that the Constitution did not appear to correspond to any political system," Lee told hundreds of Christians at a Presbyterian church in downtown Taipei yesterday.
"I was trying to change [the Constitution] to enable it to better satisfy the needs of Taiwan," he said.
But after 12 years as the nation's leader, the ex-president conceded his mission was not complete.
Lee said it was preposterous that Taiwan still used a Constitution, formulated in 1946, in which China was included as part of its territory.
The electoral system provided for in the Constitution did not reflect the needs of Taiwanese either, Lee said.
He gave the example of the legislature, which he said was too large and had become a source of chaos in society.
"There is so much to be done. It is a shame that I was not able to complete the mission," he said.
The Presbyterian church invited Lee to speak to mark the 25th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan's (
In 1977, the church made public its declaration to urge the government to create an independent country so as to fulfill the wish of Taiwanese to pursue democracy and liberty.
Lee said he admired these forefathers for having spoken the minds of Taiwanese such a long time ago.
To realize this goal, Lee encouraged Taiwanese to work harder and called on the public to recognize Taiwan as their motherland.
The ex-president said ethnicity was not an issue for Taiwan, but that the real problem was that many people did not acknowledge Taiwan as their country.
"Identity confusion is the root of social disorder in Taiwan," he told the audience.
The other urgent task for Taiwan is to try to re-enter and contribute to the international community, countering China's attempts to squeeze Taiwan out of the international arena.
He said to resist China's threats and bullying, in 1999 he redefined the relationship between Taiwan and China as being "special state to state" in nature.
The introduction of this new concept, Lee said, was to show to the world that "Taiwan is part of the world, Taiwan is not part of China."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS