Independence advocates yesterday rallied outside the cordoned-off area for the Double Ten National Day celebration around the Presidential Office Building, urging the government to normalize diplomatic relations with the US and draft a new constitution.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to not betray the majority of Taiwanese who hope that Taiwan achieves normal nationhood and the name “Republic of China (ROC)” will be dropped.
“Our government must rectify the official name from ROC to Taiwan, because the ROC was the military dictatorship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), erected after it lost the Chinese Civil War and illegally occupied Taiwan,” Chen said. “We must distance ourselves from this outdated regime, and then Taiwanese and their government can start anew and forge diplomatic relations with other countries.”
Photo: CNA
Referring to the establishment of the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland last month, Taiwan Independence Party Chairman Peter Ku (古文發) said: “This should be the model for our government when setting up and naming foreign diplomatic offices, and establishing formal ties with other democratic nations.”
Chen Chi-yao (陳祺曜), a member of a pro-independence youth group, said it is also important to draft a new constitution, as the current one originates in China and was imposed by the KMT without popular consent, adding that the Constitution does not represent Taiwanese, nor does it reflect the current political and social realities.
“A new constitution must clearly state that Taiwan neither belongs to the ROC nor to the People’s Republic of China, and that Taiwanese aspire for their nation to be a normal, independent, sovereign and democratic country recognized around the world,” he said.
Chilly Chen said that it is a critical time, because China has been increasingly making hostile moves toward Taiwan and threatens to go to war against numerous democratic countries.
“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that if China attacks Taiwan, the US will do everything it can to reduce tension in the region and fulfill its commitments to Taiwan,” he said. “This is the right time to go for independence and establish formal relations with other democratic countries.”
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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