Comments by US officials on Taiwan's international status received a mixed response from independence activists, with some staging a protest outside the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday and others thanking the US government for telling the truth.
The Taiwan United Nations Alliance led a coalition of legislators and pro-independence groups in staging the demonstration in Taipei to protest against the US government's opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum plan.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (
PHOTO: AFP
Twu Shiing-jer (
"The referendum on UN membership is a giant step toward democracy and the United States must not bow to the unreasonable demands of China," he said.
Dennis Wilder, senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council, told reporters last Thursday that the statehood of Taiwan, or the Republic of China (ROC), is an undecided issue, and as such it is not qualified to be a member of the UN.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said on Aug. 27 that the US government opposes Taiwan's plan for a UN membership referendum because Washington views such activity as a move toward a declaration of independence for Taiwan.
In contrast to the protesters, the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign "thanked" the US government for pointing out the fact that Taiwan is not a state, but also criticized its opposition to the referendum plan.
Peter Wang (王獻極), head of the group, said at a press conference in Taipei that Taiwanese must wake up and realize that Taiwan and the ROC is not a state at the moment.
"The ROC was dead in 1949 when the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] lost the Chinese civil war and fled to Taiwan," Wang said.
"However, the Republic of Taiwan is yet to be born and Taiwan is not yet the name of the country. We must step up efforts to establish a Taiwan republic," Wang said.
Wang, however, said that the US government had no right to prevent Taiwanese from exercising their democratic rights.
To protest against US opposition to the UN referendum, Wang said his group would hold a rock concert on Friday evening at the 228 Peace Park.
On Saturday, the group will lead a march calling for the US to respect the right of Taiwanese for self-determination and to support the nation's UN bid.
The march will begin at 4pm at the intersection of Renai Road and Guangfu S Road near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and end at the AIT headquarters.
In related news, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The KMT's proposed referendum on UN membership is a false issue," Chen said.
"The KMT originally opposed holding a referendum concurrently with elections," Chen said.
"But now, it does not dare oppose plans for a referendum because they want to capitalize on the issue to help Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) win the presidential election," Chen said.
The president said he believed the pressure the KMT had received from Beijing over the UN referendum was no less than what he received from the US.
Chen was referring to a recent report published by the Chinese-language China Times claiming that Beijing had expressed concern over the referendum initiated by the KMT on whether to "rejoin" the UN and join other international organizations under the name ROC, Taiwan or another practical title.
Ma has denied receiving a letter from China expressing its dissatisfaction with the referendum proposal, adding that he did not feel any pressure from Beijing over the issue.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
COUNTERMEASURE: Taiwan was to implement controls for 47 tech products bound for South Africa after the latter downgraded and renamed Taipei’s ‘de facto’ offices The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reviewing a new agreement proposed by the South African government last month to regulate the status of reciprocal representative offices, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. Asked about the latest developments in a year-long controversy over Taiwan’s de facto representative office in South Africa, Lin during a legislative session said that the ministry was consulting with legal experts on the proposed new agreement. While the new proposal offers Taiwan greater flexibility, the ministry does not find it acceptable, Lin said without elaborating. The ministry is still open to resuming retaliatory measures against South
RSS