Taiwan is a multiethnic country and there is no issue of ethnic identity aside from whether or not one identifies with this land, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.
"Despite diverse ethnicity, a country is a single unit. Regardless of what national name one identifies oneself with in their heart -- be it Taiwan or Republic of China [ROC] -- a national title is only a symbol," Chen said.
"The most important thing is whether you harbor feelings toward the land and identify yourself with the land," he said.
Chen made the remarks yesterday while receiving Kim Young-oak (金容沃), a South Korean academic, at the Presidential Office.
"Whether the official name of the nation is ROC or Taiwan, `democracy, peace and defending Taiwan' is a common language, and the greatest common denominator for the 23 million people who live on this soil," the president told his guest, who is an expert in Chinese philosophy.
"Zeal for democracy, a yearning for peace and a determination to safeguard Taiwan are what closely unite the 23 million of Taiwan," Chen added.
Expressing his delight at meeting Kim, Chen said he remembered the last time he spoke with Kim, in Aug. 2003. Kim had predicted that Chen would be re-elected in last year's presidential election.
"[Kim's remarks] then drew criticism from my opponent, who berated professor Kim as a monk from South Korea who fabricates stories. But the prediction was later proven true," Chen said. "Those people failed to recognize a great person, and called a world-class philosopher a mere Korean monk."
Kim holds a doctoral degree from Harvard University in comparative philosophy and founded the Korean Institute for Classical Studies in Seoul. He is known in South Korea for his versatility.
Kim has also been called "The King Maker" because of his election campaign strategies that helped South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun get elected two years ago. Kim is currently serving as one of Roh's key advisers.
Kim told Chen that he wishes to gain a deeper understanding of Taiwanese and Hakka cultures during his visit in Taiwan.
In Taiwan on an eight-day visit, Kim was invited by the Council of Cultural Affairs to tour the nation. He will travel to Taitung to see local Aboriginal tribes.
Kim will also visit Kaohsiung and Tainan and meet artists and cultural figures.
Kim plans to make a documentary series of the Korean independence movement during his trip. He will visit the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) archives and Academia Historica to collect documents about the movement.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and