Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chen Zau-nan (陳昭南) yesterday submitted a petition demanding that the party freeze the Taiwanese independence clause in its party charter in the upcoming party congress, which he said would help the DPP regain power.
The petition called for freezing the first article of the party charter, usually known as the Taiwanese independence clause, which calls for the “establishment of an independent sovereignty known as the Republic of Taiwan.”
The petition received more than 40 signatures, 20 of which came from party representatives.
Photo: Chen Hui-ping, Taipei Times
Chen said he had made the same proposal in 2000, adding that Taiwan was already an independent sovereignty under the name of the Republic of China and its future should be decided by its 23 million residents.
The clause had fulfilled its purpose and the DPP has no need to further push Taiwanese independence, Chen said.
The move would improve the party and the nation, Chen said, adding that the cross-strait issue should not be an obstacle barring the DPP from returning to power and keeping the KMT in power.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) knew nothing of the proposal until he brought it up yesterday, Chen said, adding that although he could not advance the issue as he was not a national party representative, he would continue to push the proposal.
DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said freezing the clause would have no real meaning, adding that the Resolution on Taiwan’s Future (台灣前途決議文) had in large part superseded the Taiwanese independence clause.
DPP legislators Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) both disagreed with the proposal to freeze the clause, with Chen Chi-mai saying that the clause formed part of the basic tenet of the DPP charter and represented the values and the spirit of the party.
Lee said the clause was a precious historic article and there was no need to freeze it because the spirit of the resolution was accepted by party members and by the international community.
National Cheng Chi University professor Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), one of the petition’s drafters, said the clause had become an obstacle to the DPP, and resolving the issue depended on the determination and willingness of Tsai Ing-wen.
The clause is detrimental to Taiwan, Tung said, adding that even if the DPP were willing to implement the clause, it lacks the power to do so in the near future because ratifying the Constitution requires the support of three-quarters of the Legislative Yuan.
Freezing the clause would be a step toward unifying Taiwan’s consensus on cross-strait issues, Tung said.
Meanwhile, student activist leader Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) spoke against the freeze on Facebook, saying it would be an illogical move and like an ostrich burying its head in the sand in response to danger.
If the DPP were to agree to the freeze, it would need to brace itself to be replaced as the main opposition party, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than
RSS