Taiwan is a sovereign and independent state. Neither Taiwan nor China belongs to the other.
This is a fundamental stance that the Taiwanese people should retain.
Taiwan and China have never been unified and so there should be no question of secession. Therefore we are by all means opposed to China and its "anti-secession" law. The law violates international law, threatening and damaging world peace.
The UN and its members must face up to the issue solemnly, and immediately express their concern and take the necessary measures against China, whose act is in violation of international law and the UN Charter, and in any event constitutes a breach of international peace.
The anti-secession law is in fact an annexation law enacted for the purpose of invading and annexing Taiwan.
Though Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country, it has yet to become a "normal" one. The great and important project of normalizing Taiwan has to continue.
The four causes that the Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance has attempted to promote -- including changing the name of Taiwan, the writing of a new constitution, the holding of a referendum on independence and gaining entry to the UN -- have to be kept in place.
First, Taiwan must change its name.
Since the UN General Assembly's passage of Resolution 2758 in 1971, Taiwan has been excluded from the UN, and with this the government and the people lost all their lawful rights at the UN and in most of the organizations connected to it.
If Taiwan wants to exist and develop in the international community, the name of the country has to be changed to "Taiwan" in order to gain more international support for its cause.
Second, Taiwan must write a new constitution.
To become a normal country, Taiwan needs a constitution that is centered on Taiwan, compatible with the current situation and written by the people themselves.
Third, Taiwan must have a referendum. Holding a referendum is the implementation of the idea of "power in the hands of the people" and makes up for the inadequacy of parliamentary politics.
Taiwanese people must retain the right to decide on major affairs important to the future of the nation through referendums.
Fourth, Taiwan must join the UN. Nowadays, all countries, both big and small, take joining the UN for granted.
At present there are 192 countries in the world, and Taiwan is the only one that is being actively excluded from the UN.
Therefore we must make great strides to become a UN member so that we may have the chance to contribute to world peace and international cooperation.
The Taiwanese people's four "musts" and one "insistence" aim to establish Taiwan as a normal country in the international community.
The democratization of this country has from the very beginning been a process of challenging the impossible but achieving real results.
By the same token, the normalization of Taiwan is a magnificent but daunting and ongoing process in which the impossible must continue to be challenged.
To turn the impossible into the possible, we have to find common ground and work together to achieve our mutual goal.
Chen Lung-chu is the chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.
TRANSLATED BY DANIEL CHENG
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