Advocates of Taiwanese independence yesterday protested outside the Double Ten National Day ceremony on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, calling for an end to the Republic of China (ROC) political structure and the establishment of diplomatic ties using the name Taiwan.
The protests were headed by the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign and the Taiwan Action Alliance Party (TAPA), with supporters gathering in front of the Presidential Office Building.
TAPA chairman Yang Chyi-wen (楊其文) led a group who attempted to enter an area barricaded for the events, which sparked a brief confrontation with police.
“Our protest is to demand that the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] cancel the national day celebrations, which is related to a Chinese political movement that took place in China and had nothing to do with Taiwanese,” Yang said.
They also rejected a proposed new ID scheme, Yang said, adding that the government should replace the name ROC with Taiwan on any new ID cards, but not use electronic chips in them, which would allow the collection of personal data.
“Taiwanese should not celebrate on Oct. 10, which belongs to acolytes of the ROC and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT],” 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said.
“We should celebrate ‘Taiwan national day’ on Sept. 8 instead,” Chen said.
Japan on Sept. 8, 1951, signed the Treaty of San Francisco to formally renounce political rule over Taiwan and other then-colonies after World War II, Chen said.
“Japan did not surrender Taiwan to China, so that should be seen as the start of the road to Taiwan becoming a sovereign nation,” he said.
Singing Revolution, a group of young musicians, played Taiwanese folk songs, including Taiwan the Green (台灣翠青) by Tyzen Hsiao (蕭泰然).
Chen and others said that the government must take advantage of a favorable international climate toward Taiwan to discard the ROC and replace it with Taiwan.
Then Taiwan could forge diplomatic ties as a new nation, as the ROC is an illegal regime and not recognized by the international community, they said.
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