The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to promote a referendum proposed by civic groups to rename the national sports team from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which it said would be the most effective way to resist pressure from China.
The East Asian Olympic Committee on Tuesday last week revoked Taichung’s right to host the first East Asian Youth Games in August next year.
In a statement issued the following day, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) cited the proposed referendum as the reason for the committee’s decision, saying that it contravened a 1981 agreement between the International Olympic Committee and the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee to name the team “Chinese Taipei.”
Photo: Su Fang-ho, Taipei Times
While President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has expressed support for Taichung’s decision to appeal the decision and has said Taiwanese are blameless, she needs to take more concrete action, TSU Chairman Lau Yi-te (劉一德) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Tsai’s consistent attempts to please and appease China over the past two years have only encouraged Beijing to continue bullying Taiwan in all possible ways, from carrying out aerial exercises around the nation and forcing international airlines to change their designations for Taiwan to blocking its participation in international organizations, he said.
“As compromise has led to few results, the president must take a tougher approach,” Liu said, calling on Tsai to mobilize all DPP members to support the referendum.
The proposal’s organizers have about 100,000 signatures and must gather another 180,000 to meet the threshold for holding a referendum, he said.
As of Thursday last week, the TSU had collected 4,600 signatures for the referendum proposal, while Taiwan Radical Wings, the New Power Party and the Green Party had gathered 2,900, 535 and 20 signatures respectively, TSU women’s section director Ouyang Jui-lien (歐陽瑞蓮) said.
Meanwhile, the DPP, along with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party and the Social Democratic Party, have collected zero, she added.
The Tsai administration and the DPP have clearly stayed away from the referendum proposal, Ouyang said, adding that at its most recent national congress, the DPP even revoked a proposal to discuss supporting the petition.
“If the referendum proposal does not pass, Beijing will assume that its bullying was effective, which would further hurt pro-Taiwan parties,” she said.
Taiwanese athletes have the right to use the name “Taiwan,” which has been used to represent the nation in the Olympic Games, award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng (馮光遠) said.
“There have been precedents of nations competing in international sporting events under different names. Taiwanese must not hesitate to rename themselves for fear of outside factors,” he said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS