In his new book, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that the “status quo” for Taiwan means “not belonging to China,” which is why he has never backed the movement for Taiwanese independence.
According to reports in the Chinese-language United Daily Evening News, in Last Days: My Life’s Journey and the Roadmap of Taiwan’s Democratization, Lee writes that Taiwan already enjoys de jure independence, and if the president allows the conflict between pro-independence and pro-unification camps to grow, it would be to the detriment of the nation.
The report quoted Lee as writing that with the first direct presidential election in 1996, Taiwan “shook off the yoke of foreign occupation.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
While under “foreign occupation,” many tragedies occurred — which should be properly addressed — but Taiwan must ultimately move beyond such sentiments, Lee wrote.
When a person arrived in Taiwan should not be the deciding factor in whether they are considered Taiwanese, and while history must be understood, Taiwanese must look toward the future, Lee wrote, according to the report.
Taiwan must shake off the old system, with its notions of “one China” and that the Republic of China (ROC) is a legitimate continuation of “China” from the Qing Dynasty, Lee wrote.
More than 80 percent of Taiwanese back maintaining the “status quo” between China and Taiwan, and this “status quo” is that Taiwan is independent of China, Lee wrote, according to the report.
The nation should participate in international affairs under the name of Taiwan, which should be the only point of concern, Lee wrote.
The debate over whether Taiwan is independent would only tear the nation apart if allowed to continue, and Taiwan need not make controversial comments on the matter, because it already enjoys de jure independence, Lee wrote, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Lee yesterday canceled at the last minute his appearance at a publicity event for the book at the Taipei International Book Exhibition.
The book was originally scheduled for publication before the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, but the date was pushed back due to concerns that it might influence voting, Metropolitan Culture Enterprise Co Ltd & Banner Publishing House (大都會文化事業出版社) president Lin Ching-pin (林敬斌) said, adding that the title of the book was chosen by Lee.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify