Does the "normal country" resolution mean progress or recession? My answer is: Progress, for these three reasons.
First, holding a referendum is proactive. In 1986, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was established, it emphasized in its platform that it wanted to establish a sovereign, independent Republic of Taiwan and write a new constitution based on the principles of sovereignty of the people. The DPP strove for the holding of a referendum to establish the Republic of Taiwan. However, to adapt to diplomatic changes abroad, in 1999 the DPP adopted the "Resolution on Taiwan's Future," which stated that Taiwan is named "Republic of China" in the Constitution and any change to this must be decided by Taiwanese by means of a referendum. This is a passive approach to preventing any changes to the nation's status.
The new "normal country" resolution changes this passive referendum into a proactive one.
The first part of the resolution emphasizes that at an appropriate time, a referendum should be held to show that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country.
When Taiwanese think the time is right, a referendum can be held to determine whether Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country.
Second, the resolution advocates discarding the name "Republic of China." The "Resolution on Taiwan's Future" respected the fact that Taiwan is officially named "Republic of China," but the "normal country" resolution wants to do away with this name.
The first part of this resolution states that the DPP intends to rectify the name and write a new constitution "as soon as possible." "Rectifying the name" means changing the name the "Republic of China."
But in order to change the name, Taiwan will have to go through a lengthy process of amending or rewriting the Constitution. But before doing so, Taiwan should first abandon the "Republic of China" or minguo calendar that begins with the fall of the Qing dynasty and instead adopt the Gregorian calendar.
This is what the second part of the new resolution advocates: Taiwan should use the Gregorian calendar, in line with the rest of the world.
Third, the resolution talks about listening to public opinion. For the drafting of past resolutions, the DPP rarely invited opinions from groups outside the DPP. But the third part of this resolution states that the government should promote identification with the country and the land. It continues by saying that the government should actively promote local culture and languages and implement the localization of education.
The fourth part of the resolution says national security, social justice and sustainable development should be prerequisites for economic development, and economic development should allow Taiwanese to live happy, dignified lives. Thus, the resolution advocates a government that listens to the people.
These three points of the "normal country" resolution are proof that the DPP is advancing with the times.
Chai Trong-rong is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator and a member of the task force that drafted the "normal country" resolution.
Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017
RSS