The Taiwan Republic Office conducted a flag-raising ceremony in Taipei yesterday to support Taiwanese sovereignty, while Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) members held a separate event in which they signed a pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack.
As has become an annual tradition, the office and sovereignty supporters gathered at a cordoned-off section of Ketagalan Blvd next to the Taipei Guest House to fly the green-and-white independence flag displaying a chrysanthemum emblem in the center.
The assembled crowd saluted the flag before being addressed by guest speakers, including organization founder Peter Wang (王獻極), who said he was proud to have conducted the ceremony for the past 18 years.
Photo: Tsung Chang-chin, Taipei Times
Wang said that Sept. 8 should be marked as Taiwan Independence Day, as the date is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, in which Japan agreed to relinquish its claim to Taiwan.
“The sovereignty of Taiwan belongs to all of us here, all the families and inhabitants of Taiwan,” Wang said.
“The evil Chinese Communist Party wants to attack us, to take over by military force, and lie to the world by claiming Taiwan is part of China,” he added.
Wang and other advocates at the event signed a pledge to “defend Taiwan and never surrender,” before mounting a large banner on a campaign truck that read: “We shall fight to the death if communist Chinese troops try to invade Taiwan; awake people to build a Taiwan nation for international participation.”
“When President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) visits towns and villages, she always talks of herself as president of Taiwanese people. So we ask her not to forget the many martyrs who shed blood and sacrificed their life in fighting for democracy against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dictatorship,” Wang said.
“Now is the time to discard the outdated KMT symbol on the current national flag, along with the KMT party song masquerading as the national anthem,” he said, adding that a new Constitution should be drafted.
Members of the TSP at a separate event also made a pledge.
“All 24 party candidates contesting city and county council seats, along with party officials, are signing this pledge,” to defend Taiwan against enemy attack, TSP secretary-general Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said.
The pledge was launched on Monday by World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI) and other sovereignty support groups.
“We are Taiwan’s first political party to have all its members sign this pledge. This shows our strong resolve to act on our conviction, Wang Hsing-huan said.
“All politicians and government officials must make their stance clear now about how they would respond to a Chinese military attack,” he added.
Wang Hsing-huan and Peter Wang criticized Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and possible presidential candidate for refusing to sign the pledge.
Peter Wang added that Ko’s actions as mayor have demonstrated collaboration with China.
WUFI chairman Chen Nan-tien (陳南天) and Kuma Academy cofounder Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) joined the party’s event and urged voters not to cast ballots for candidates who do not sign the pledge.
“People must not give votes to pro-China political parties, for those who pander to China should no longer operate here in Taiwan,” Chen said.
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