Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and pro-independence activists yesterday protested against US President Barack Obama after he described Taiwan as an “entity,” reiterating Taiwan’s statehood after a discussion about the nation’s image in mainstream US politics.
“Taiwan is an independent state, not an entity,” Lu said, referring to Obama’s description of Taiwan, adding that Taiwanese are willing to maintain the cross-strait “status quo.”
During the end-of-year White House news conference on Friday last week, the US president said that “China views Taiwan as part of China, but recognizes that it has to approach Taiwan as an entity that has its own ways of doing things.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Taiwanese have agreed that as long as they’re able to continue to function with some degree of autonomy, that they won’t charge forward and declare independence,” he said.
Criticizing Obama’s definition of Taiwan, Lu said Taiwan is not an entity affiliated with China, but an independent state.
In a letter addressed to Obama, Lu wrote that Taiwan, ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty, has shaped its statehood and held its first popular presidential election in 1996, while Taiwan-US relations are “special state-to-state relations,” as the US is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to interact with Taipei.
Taiwanese do not challenge the “one China” principle, but that does not contradict that Taiwan exists as a sovereign state independent of China, the letter said.
Lu and members of the Taiwan Society, the Taiwan United Nations Alliance, World United Formosans for Independence and the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign signed copies of the letter, which is to be mailed to the American Institute in Taiwan as part of their protest campaign.
They urged the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump to review Taiwan-US relations and recognize Taiwan as a nation.
Meanwhile, praising President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for refusing to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus,” Lu urged the government to build a new consensus between the Democratic Progressive Party administration and the Chinese government.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted that he made up the term in 2000.
“How is the president elected this year bound by a ‘consensus’ from 1992? Tsai has to seek national unity and negotiate with China to create a ‘2017 consensus,’” Lu said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS