The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday called on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to form an "Anti-Annexation Commission" to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1996 cross-strait missile crisis.
"In order to make the appeal `Annexation, No; Independence, Yes' heard by the international community, the government should set up such a commission," TSU Legislator Tseng Tsahn-deng (曾燦燈) told a press conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
Tseng said that the commission would be charged with the mission of achieving the goal of national independence through peaceful means.
"The president's decision to cause the National Unification Council to cease to function doesn't go far enough," he said.
"We need a new institution and guidelines to deal with cross-strait relations in the next 10 years," Tseng said.
China fired ballistic missiles into the Taiwan Strait in March 1996 to intimidate Taiwanese voters ahead of the nation's first presidential election, he said.
"We can't rule out the possibility that China will have an even more fierce military reaction [this time], as it has recently said that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory," he said.
"In this regard, we have to make `anti-annexation' a clear priority," Tseng said.
He said that the government should also promote an "anti-annexation principle" to counter the "one China" principle, which has gained wide acceptance in the international community.
The TSU also suggested that the government give preference to the expression "Taiwan-China relations," and abandon the term "cross-strait relations." The term "cross-strait relations" is ambiguous, as it does not give a clear indication that Taiwan and China are two separate countries, it said.
Tseng said that the TSU would soon table a draft proposal on the anti-annexation commission in the legislature.
In related news, at a forum on the 1996 crisis held by the Northern Taiwan Society last night in Taipei, former president Lee Teng-hui (
"China is eyeing Taiwan's 2008 presidential election and attempting to help the candidate it wants to become its agent in Taiwan to further deprive Taiwan of its hard-won democracy and freedom," Lee said. "You all know clearly who I am talking about. I don't have to name him."
Looking back at the 1996 missile crisis, Lee said that although China had fired missiles into the Strait Taiwan in an attempt to scare voters in the nation's first presidential election, the people had shown their wisdom and courage and voted anyway.
"The year 1996 was not only a year of darkness but also a year of pride and honor for the people of Taiwan," Lee said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
RSS