As a baritone sang Taiwan the Green and about 500 people gazed on, a green, blue and red flag with the characters "Republic of Taiwan" as it was raised slowly against the backdrop of the cinnamon-and-white Presidential Office yesterday to commemorate Taiwan's Independence Day, as recognized by pro-independence activists.
Organized by pro-independence stalwart Peter Wang (
September 8 should be set aside as "Taiwan's Independence Day" to mark Taiwan's de facto independence, since the date recalls Japan's signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, in which it relinquished its claim to Taiwan, Wang said yesterday, before the flag was raised.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The campaign organization set up a flag-raising platform on a truck that parked on Ketagalan Boulevard, and about 500 participants coming from Tainan, Hsinchu and Taichung gathered in front of the platform to attend the ritual. Most of the participants were Taiwan Solidarity Union supporters, although three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers also attended the event.
Gazing at the flag fluttering in the wind on the sunny day, five young women recited a declaration of Taiwan's independence in Hoklo, Hakka, Mandarin, Amis and English, while a Presbyterian Church minister said a prayer for Taiwan. The song Taiwan the Green was one of the event's theme songs, composed by musician Hsiao Tyzen (
"I think this ceremony is meaningful and young people should know this date that is significant for Taiwan's destiny," a 60 year-old old woman from Tainan City said yesterday.
After the ceremony, Wang also announced an agenda for Taiwan's independence movement, saying that the alliance would unveil the Constitution of the Republic of Taiwan in 2007 and call on 3 million people to endorse the content of the new constitution on Feb.28, 2008. Pro-independence groups will request the new president in 2008 to promulgate the new constitution. A flag-raising ceremony will be held again on Sept. 8 in 2008, and 8,000 young people will take the new constitution and parade around the UN in the US to appeal for Taiwan to become a member of the world body.
"Hopefully the flag of Republic of Taiwan will actually rise above the Presidential Office in 2008," Wang said.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
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The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
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