Refusing to take the back seat in shaping Taiwan's destiny, hund-reds of overseas independence activists gathered in Taipei yesterday for the World Taiwanese Congress (WTC) which is taking place over the weekend.
Their arrival is seen as a mixed blessing by the ruling DPP -- once their staunch ally -- with officials who have a big stake in the December elections hesitant to show them warm hospitality.
"Let all who love Taiwan say yes to the [independence] cause," Lee Sheng-hsiung (李勝雄), leader of the Taiwan Independence Party, said at an evening news conference.
The blunt-speaking lawyer likened the Republic of China to the fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" -- saying that it is nonexistent.
The WTC, formed four months ago by more than 90 pro-independence groups worldwide, is to convene its first plenary meeting today and tomorrow in Taipei in part to celebrate the anniversary of President Chen Shui-bian's electoral win.
Some 400 overseas Taiwanese from 17 countries, including Tokyo-based National Policy Advisor Alice King (
Chen, walking a tightrope to pacify foes at home and across the Strait, is expected to avoid controversial language on the sovereignty issue when addressing the WTC forum this morning.
Chang Lipang (張理邦), 55, a resident of Toronto, Canada, expressed the hope that the presence of so many overseas activists would provide some cheer to Chen as well as curb what he sees as Chen's increasing drift away from the independence crusade.
DPP lawmaker Wang To (王拓) was sceptical, however. He said he admired the fortitude demonstrated by the overseas Taiwanese in pursuit of Taiwan sovereignty but warned that their appeal could backfire and harm the Chen administration.
He said that Chen had tried to remain neutral on the issue in the hope of preserving stability, without which the government could not translate its mandate into the ability to deliver its platform.
"The DPP cannot afford to provoke the opposition, whose lawmakers have repeatedly thwarted its policy goals," Wang said.
Wang is seeking another term in the year-end legislative elections.
Echoing Wang's comments, his colleague Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), who lived in the US for two decades, said overseas Taiwanese tend to be less pragmatic when it comes to approaching the sovereignty issue.
He said he recognized that the majority of the electorate prefers to maintain the status quo. A three-term legislator, Shen has made clear he too is seeking re-election later this year.
Hsu Shih-mo (
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from