The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) National Congress that opens on Sunday will be a key factor in shaping the political environment of Taiwan, not only in terms of next year's legislative and presidential elections, but also the future of the DPP. The focus of the meeting will be on whether to add a clause to the "normal country resolution" stipulating that the nation's title shall be changed to "Taiwan."
The "Republic of China" (ROC) now exists in name only. Quickly changing the national title to "Taiwan" is the hope of most DPP members. But when the DPP's Central Standing Committee discussed the resolution, the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the draft were replaced by the vaguer "writing a new constitution and the correction of the national title as soon as possible."
This kind of substitution gives people the feeling that it was done in a perfunctory manner. What does "as soon as possible" mean? When will that be? This sounds like a Chinese cookbook that talks about adding "some salt" or a "suitable amount of sugar." The meaning is lost.
In Western cookbooks, amounts are precisely written in teaspoons or grams. The vagueness and over generalization in the resolution leaves one feeling they are just empty phrases.
Another crucial factor is the deletion of the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the draft. This strips the resolution of its soul. The 300,000 supporters who took to the streets in Kaohsiung and the 4,000 people who gathered at a rally in New York to push for the UN referendum under the name "Taiwan" show that only the name "Taiwan" arouses people's passion.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
If the DPP's presidential candidate moves closer to the political middle ground, however, he will be abandoning the ideals behind writing a new constitution and correcting the national title, which would take Taiwan further along the path toward normal statehood.
The name "Taiwan" is the DPP's trump card. Dropping this card and following Ma toward the center would be a mistake in principle as well as in strategy.
Playing the "Taiwan" card can not only consolidate the pan-green camp, but also build support for the DPP.
Statistics from the Government Information Office show there have been more than 1,600 reports published by the international media reflecting the Taiwanese government's active UN bid this year. This figure is four to eight times more than in past years.
Former US senator Bob Dole, who was also the US Republican Party's 1996 presidential candidate, published an article in the Wall Street Journal supporting Taiwan's UN bid. Dole wrote that "... the country is applying under its own name [`Taiwan'] rather than its official appellation [`ROC'], which is certainly worthy of public support." He also wrote that "[Taiwan] meets all of the requirements of statehood under law."
An opinion poll showed that about 80 percent of Americans know that Taiwan is a country, but that only one percent of Americans know that Taiwan is not a UN member.
The opinion poll published on Sunday by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) explained the situation: 70 percent of Americans say that if Taiwan passes its referendum on a UN bid under the name "Taiwan," the US should not oppose the wishes of the Taiwanese.
Clearly, only if Taiwanese speak up and reveal the truth will they be able to elicit sincere support.
Meanwhile, in the run-up to the DPP's National Congress, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun has been indicted for allegedly misusing his "special allowance fund."
As the pan-blue camp is attempting to get rid of the DPP heavyweights through judicial means, conscientious DPP supporters who have set the future of Taiwan as their top priority should form a support group urging Yu not to resign from his post.
At the same time, all DPP supporters should advocate the inclusion of the words "correcting the nation's official title to Taiwan" in the "normal country resolution." History is in the making.
Cao Changqing is a political commentator based in the US.
Translated by Lin Ya-ti
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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