A proposal to remove a clause promoting a "Republic of Taiwan" from the DPP's charter met with mixed responses from the party's lawmakers yesterday.
Central Standing Committee member Chen Zau-nan (
"I'm thinking of reaching the ultimate goal through two stages," he told reporters after the meeting.
"The first stage would be to strengthen the recognition of the `1999 resolution regarding Taiwan's future.' The second stage would be to change one article of the party's platform from `establishing a sovereign state of the Republic of Taiwan' to `safeguarding Taiwan's independence and sovereignty,'" he said.
The "1999 resolution regarding Taiwan's future" refers to a consensus reached by the party in 1999 in which it recognizes the nation's formal name as the Republic of China.
It also claims that Taiwan is already an independent country -- thereby reducing the need to seek formal independence.
Since the resolution states that Taiwan is already an independent country, Chen said, there could be no such a thing as declaring independence.
"It doesn't even matter if the national moniker is changed to something else," he said.
His proposal, however, was met with such a lukewarm response that Chen himself decided not to present it at the party's National Congress meeting on July 21.
During the congress the party will elect new members to its central committees. President Chen Shui-bian (
DPP lawmaker and Central Standing Committee member Lawrence Kao (
"It's really a bad time to discuss the subject right now since the president is set to take over as party chairman and the party is to elect new members of the Central Standing Committee, Central Executive Committee and Central Review Committee," he said.
DPP legislative whip Ker Chien-ming (
"It's not a good timing to touch on the issue now because cross-strait relations are stable and the political and economic climate is constantly changing," he said.
DPP lawmaker and spokesman for the New Tide faction (新潮流) Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) refused to comment on Chen Zau-nan's proposal.
"I totally respect his personal opinion," he said.
When asked about China's recent remarks about refusing to have any contact with the DPP unless the party alters its platform by July, Chiu said that Beijing should stay out of the party's business.
"It's not like it's our father or anything. It cannot tell us what to do and what not to do," he said.
DPP Legislator Mark Chen (
"It doesn't matter how many political allies Taiwan has altogether," he said. "What really matters is whether the Taiwanese people recognize the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state."
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