At yesterday’s opening ceremony for his Taiwan New Constitution Foundation, Taiwanese independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said that a new constitution is needed to give Taiwanese a sense of nationhood.
The “status quo” in Taiwan’s relationship with China is disadvantageous to Taiwan, Koo said, adding that through the foundation, he would promote the drafting of a new constitution.
National Taiwan University honorary professor of law Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧) likened the Republic of China Constitution to Taiwanese folk monster Moxina (魔神仔), which legend says dwells in the wilderness and causes trouble and confusion for people who come near.
Photo: CNA
The Constitution is meaningless, but causes all sorts of problems for Taiwan, he said.
Several prominent Taiwanese independence supporters attended the opening ceremony, including former premier William Lai (賴清德), Taiwan New Century Foundation chairman Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志), Taiwan Forever Association president Jerry Cheng (鄭文龍), New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), Social Democratic Party convener Fan Yun (范雲) and Taiwan Radical Wings Chairman Chen Yi-chi (陳奕齊).
The idea of drafting a new constitution tailored for Taiwan has been publicly discussed for more than a decade, Koo said.
Taiwan’s relationship with China and other countries is unstable, but at the US’ behest, presidents have been compelled to maintain the “status quo,” which has limited the nation’s participation in the international community, he said.
Taiwan is qualified to join the UN, but is prevented from doing so by the “status quo,” and only had to leave the international organization because Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) refused to participate alongside Beijing, he added.
Nevertheless, Taiwan has made outstanding achievements and contributions worldwide, Koo said, adding that a new constitution should be drafted so that the nation can formally participate in international organizations.
“China’s actions toward Taiwan are increasingly unreasonable and without consensus, which is causing change in Taiwanese society,” he said, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) losses in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year were due to its failure to address public dissatisfaction with the “status quo.”
Despite the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington’s main focus has always been its relationship with China, Koo said, adding that Japan has had the same priority.
“Taiwan is progressing every day. What is the meaning of [the US telling Taiwan to] maintain the ‘status quo?’” he said.
The DPP has long advocated for the formulation of a new constitution, Lai said, citing former Presidential Office adviser Peng Ming-min’s (彭明敏) platform when he ran for president in 1996.
Then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2004 called for a referendum on the issue of a new constitution and other parties have since then appealed for a new constitution, he said.
“Unfortunately, advocacy remains stuck at the point of advocacy, opinions remain simply opinions. The issue has not developed to the next step,” Lai said.
“Seeing the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation being formally established today, I personally respect Koo Kwang-ming greatly for his willingness to put his time and money into it,” he added.
A new constitution tailor-made for Taiwan is needed, because the current one was written in China and not with Taiwan in mind, Lai said, adding that Chinese values represented by the Constitution often conflict with modern Taiwanese values.
Although the Constitution was amended in 1996, a number of problems have emerged since then that have not been addressed, he said.
Taiwan must solve the issue of being an unrecognized nation, but this cannot be solved by one party alone, Lai said, adding that the nation’s political parties have not formed a culture that prioritizes national interests.
A new constitution could bring Taiwanese together, without which the nation cannot progress, cannot overcome failure in the international community and cannot face China, he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS