President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday complained that some people do not sing the national anthem "out loud" and said it was a "serious matter," in comments that raised eyebrows among pro-independence supporters.
"I notice that many people here do not sing the national anthem, and those who do, fail to sing it out loud. Why? This is a serious matter," he said. "When I was in Paraguay, I sang our national anthem as many as six times. The national anthem signifies the country. I noticed that their band members and even their journalists sung their national anthem aloud."
Chen made the remarks yesterday morning at the Shinchuang Athletic Education Hall while attending the opening ceremony of the Presidential Cup ball competitions held for central government civil servants.
Chen said he was afraid the upgrading of the nation's competitiveness might be hindered if people could not reach a consensus on the issue.
"If government officials take this kind of attitude toward the national anthem, no wonder the general public forgets how to sing the national anthem," he said.
Chen not only sang the national anthem but also bowed to the national flag and effigy of Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), the "founding father" of the Republic of China (ROC) at yesterday's event.
Some pro-independence activists do not support Sun's designation as the nation's father, but say he is worthy of respect.
As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has long campaigned to change the national anthem and national flag, Chen's complaint yesterday raised eyebrows and received a mixed response.
DPP Spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (
"The national flag and national anthem represent the country and should not become a pawn for ideological confrontation," he said. "We think it is a good thing that people sing the national anthem because it helps consolidate public consensus."
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (
"However, we'd very much like to see the president respect the ROC Constitution and constantly remind himself that he is the president of the Republic of China."
People First Party (PFP) Spokesman Hsieh Kung-ping (
"Although it is kind of surprising to learn of President Chen's remark, it is not a bad thing that he is willing to sing the national anthem and requests that government officials do so because it is something they should be doing in the first place."
Ng Chiau-tong (
While a country needs a national anthem, Ng said it was a mistake to use a KMT song for that purpose.
The anthem declares the Three Principles of the People to be the guidelines the KMT adheres to and the foundation of the nation.
The song was used as a temporary national anthem in the late 1920s and early 1930s when the Ministry of Education held two competitions to choose lyrics for a national anthem. Sun's composition was adopted as the ROC's national anthem in 1937 when none of the entries reviewed by the education ministry were deemed appropriate. The piece was chosen as the world's best national anthem at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS