The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's efforts over the past year for the country to enter the UN under the name Taiwan havve helped put Taiwan on the map, members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) said yesterday.
Speaking at a news conference marking the publication of TAUP observations on Taiwan's political climate this year, Hsu Chu-feng (
Hsu claimed that the UN bid efforts have forged a new, nationwide consensus. In turn this has helped consolidate the national identity of the people of Taiwan, and so the international community has for the first time heard the common voice of Taiwan's people, which is making the Beijing leadership unhappy.
Chen Chun-sheng (陳春生), an honorary professor with National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, said that although the maiden bid for UN entry under the name Taiwan did not succeed, the motion was, for the first time, brought up for discussion by the UN General Assembly.
The number of international media reports on the bid was four or five times greater than that given to bids made by the ex-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration seeking to return the Republic of China to the UN, Chen said.
He claimed the DPP-initiated UN bid had significantly increased Taiwan's visibility in the international community.
On the issue of cross-strait relations, Chen said that rationally speaking, Taiwan is not the Republic of China.
He suggested that Taiwan return the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu, which are located closer to China than to Taiwan proper, to China and then found a Republic of Taiwan under the spirit of the UN Chapter.
He also suggested that the Taiwanese authorities bring those Kinmen and Matsu residents who recognize Taiwan to settle in Taiwan and resettle those Taiwanese residents who recognize the ROC to Kinmen and Matsu.
Chen said that both notions of the signing of a cross-strait peace accord and the drafting of an act governing peaceful engagement between Taiwan and China are pitfalls.
He also called on Taiwan's voters to remain alert to Chinese espionage, claiming that Chinese influence has already been felt in the upcoming presidential race and referendums.
Chuang Han-lin (莊翰林), a lecturer with the Minghsin University of Science and Technology, said Taiwan's hard-earned democracy will face an "unprecedented crisis" if the KMT and its allies win a majority of seats in the next legislature and if KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wins next year's presidential race.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS