Thousands of people attended a rally yesterday afternoon in Taipei to voice their opposition to the so-called “1992 consensus” and express their concern over Taiwan’s sovereignty under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Presidential Office to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty as part of the rally, which was organized by the Taiwan Nation Alliance.
The aim of the parade was to say to both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the international community that Taiwan does not belong to China, organizers said.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty with 48 UN member countries in a meeting on Sept. 8, 1951. In the treaty, Japan declared that it would relinquish its claims to Taiwan, Penghu and all other offshore islands.
Although the treaty has weight in international law, it does not say to which party Japan ceded Taiwan and Penghu, alliance spokesperson Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) said, adding that this means Taiwan is not part of China and that Taiwanese have the right to establish their own country.
The “1992 consensus” never existed, Yao said, adding that by accepting a consensus on the basis of “one China,” Ma had committed treason because he claimed that Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to another country.
The parade started in front of Wanhua (萬華) Train Station at 2:28pm, in commemoration of the 228 Massacre in 1947, and ended on Ketagalan Boulevard.
Several political parties, including the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and the Taiwan Nationalist Party, as well as many pro-independence groups, took part.
During the parade the crowd chanted slogans: “Dump Ma, protect Taiwan,” “Taiwan Consensus: ‘One China, One Taiwan’” and “Protect sovereignty, safeguard peace,” with protestors carrying various handmade signs and placards, some of which read “anti--annexation” and “China: hands off Taiwan.”
The parade was held to remind the international community that the San Francisco Peace Treaty gave Taiwanese the status of “free men” who, like people of other colonies around the world after World War II, were given the right to establish their own country, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said.
Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to no one else — neither to the Republic of China nor the People’s Republic of China. It belongs only to Taiwanese, he said.
It is a fact that Taiwan’s status remains undetermined, because the “Taiwan problem” after World War II was handled differently from that of Korea and Okinawa, said Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an associate research fellow in the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica.
After Japan ceded its right to Taiwan and Penghu, Taiwanese never exercised their right to self-determination and this was because of the occupation by KMT military forces, Taiwan Association of University Professors president Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲) said, adding that if the KMT won the presidential election next year, Taiwan’s status risked being be further jeopardized.
“Nobody can deny the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign country,” DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) told reporters before the parade.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS