Civic groups yesterday delivered to the Central Election Commission more than 520,000 signatures collected for a referendum proposal to change the national sports team’s name from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At a news conference in front of the commission headquarters, Olympic medalist and campaign spokeswoman Chi Cheng (紀政) thanked supporters for helping them reach the threshold of 281,745 signatures and urged people to vote on the referendum, which is to take place alongside the nine-in-one local elections in November.
The proposal, which garnered 526,688 signatures, is the seventh proposal to have reached the threshold this year. Nine referendums are expected to be held on Nov. 24, including two proposals on promoting gender equality that are expected to be submitted to the commission this week.
Photo: CNA
“Taiwan has great athletes, but we do not have a great brand. While the name ‘Taiwan’ is widely used, less than 1 percent use the name ‘Chinese Taipei.’ Great athletes deserve to represent a great name,” Control Yuan member Peter Chang (張武修) said, adding that the referendum would give Taiwanese the right to vote on their own “brand name.”
Despite having no support from the government, the proposal has garnered great momentum among the public, as many people support the idea of having the nation known as “Taiwan” in the international community, said former Tainan mayor George Chang (張燦鍙), who also took part in the grassroots campaign.
At the news conference, New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) praised the groups’ efforts to promote the campaign and their ability to gather “possibly the most signatures any proposal launched by a civil group has ever collected,” despite facing significant opposition.
Pro-unification groups and their supporters have criticized the proposal as an attempt to promote Taiwanese independence, saying that it could provoke China into further restricting Taiwan’s already limited international space.
The KMT has submitted three referendum proposals: phasing out fossil fuel power plants, halting the construction of a coal power plant in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) and maintaining the ban on food products from five Japanese prefectures, which was imposed after the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster.
The Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance has submitted three referendum proposals: maintaining the definition of marriage in the Civil Code as a union between a man and a woman, protecting the right of same-sex couples to live together without amending the Civil Code and banning education about homosexuality in elementary and junior-high schools.
For a referendum to pass, at least one-quarter of the nation’s eligible voters must cast an affirmative vote, with the “yes” votes outnumbering the “no” votes.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS