In the advent of the completion of a series of major national development schemes in China, which are to be finalized before 2010, the Republic of China should endeavor to formulate a cohesive national identity and change its official name to Taiwan, a Japanese expert in international relations said yesterday.
Mineo Nakajima, former superintendent of the Tokyo Foreign Language University and a prominent scholar in international affairs, said: "Taiwan should exploit the opportunity to formulate a cohesive national identity and rectify its name before China reaches the peak of its national strength by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, completing construction of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009, and holding the World Exposition in 2010."
Invited by Taiwan Advocates, a think-tank founded by former President Lee Teng-hui (
Nakajima said, "it will be best for Taiwan to change its name and complete the process of pursuing a national identity before 2010, as China would be preoccupied with its national development plans until then -- which would not allow it to use force against Taiwan.
"The international community would focus its attention on the robust development of China at this time and it would prevent China from attacking Taiwan. Meanwhile, growing internal problems in Chinese society, including the increasing disparity between rich and poor, the deterioration of its ecological situation and its economic jitters would also take full effect by then. Solving these problems would preoccupy China, so it would not invade Taiwan," Nakajima said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
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