Hundreds of people yesterday joined an early celebration in Taipei for Taiwanese independence pioneer Su Beng’s (史明) 100th birthday, while Su urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to ensure that Taiwanese could become the master of their own nation.
The block party on Ketagalan Boulevard was organized by dozens of pro-independence groups, musicians, performers and publishers, which featured performances, speeches and a book fair.
Tsai made a brief appearance at about 5pm, joining Su on stage to give him a hug and some gifts.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
She read a birthday card she had written to him: “I am thankful that you have proven to Taiwanese with your life that people can earn dignity if they persist with their dreams.”
Su, a vocal supporter of Tsai during her presidential campaign, thanked her and other participants, saying that although he rarely celebrated birthdays in the decades after he left Taiwan at age 20, he felt blessed by the birthday wishes of fellow independence advocates.
Life is “worth living” with a lifelong commitment to Taiwan and its people, he said, adding that he had achieved little over his decades of activism.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Su asked Tsai to lead her administration in line with public opinion to achieve the goal of “making Taiwanese their own master,” adding that this is an optimal time to achieve independence.
“The world has changed greatly. We need to be more hard-working to understand the public while working in line with public opinion,” Su said.
“President Tsai Ing-wen can hopefully put forward policies that can correspond to global trends and satisfy the need of Taiwanese,” he said.
“The train of progress has started. This is the first time that Taiwan has had a female president in its 400-year history. The nation has to do the right thing and be united and persistent while preventing the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] from regaining power to become a leading nation on equal footing with other nations,” he said.
Tsai’s efforts alone cannot achieve the goal; it requires everyone’s commitment, he said.
Su, whose given name is Shih Chao-hui (施朝暉), was born in Taipei on Nov. 9, 1918. According to the traditional Chinese way of counting birthdays, that makes him 100 years old.
He left Taiwan to study at Japan’s Waseda University.
After graduating in 1942, he went to China, where he worked undercover as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-Japanese efforts, but eventually grew dissatisfied with the party.
He returned to Taiwan in 1949, where he founded the Taiwan Independence Association a year later.
He attempted to organize an armed resistance against the KMT, but was forced into hiding in 1951. He escaped by boat to Japan in May 1952, but was arrested and served time for illegally entry,
However, after the KMT announced he was wanted in connection with a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Japan gave him political asylum and he lived there in exile until 1993, when he snuck back into Taiwan by boat.
He has advocated Taiwanese nationalism as a foundation to abolish the Republic of China framework.
His 1962 book, Taiwan’s 400 Year History, is considered a landmark work of the independence movement.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS