US Democratic Congressman Robert Andrews has introduced a resolution calling for support for the people of Taiwan to hold referendums to determine their own future, the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA) said on Monday.
On Nov. 21, the last day before the US House of Representatives adjourned for the year, Andrews introduced a resolution to "express the sense of the Congress that the people of Taiwan should be able to conduct referendum votes free from intimidation or threat of force," according to FAPA president Wu Ming-chi (吳明基).
The resolution included five major points. The first said the people of Taiwan, and not the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), should have exclusive responsibility for determining the future of Taiwan.
The second said Taiwan should be able to conduct referendums on issues that will have a direct effect on its quality of life, free from intimidation or threat of force.
The third said the US should support Taiwan as a blossoming democracy, including its adoption of such democratic practices as the use of referendums.
The fourth point said the US should continue to be a strong supporter of Taiwanese membership in the World Health Organization (WHO).
The final point said the US should raise the issue of Taiwanese referendums, including a vote respecting membership in the WHO, at future meetings with Chinese officials.
The FAPA noted in a statement that it is a strong supporter of the notion that the future of Taiwan be solely determined by the people of Taiwan and nobody else.
The idea that the future of Taiwan must be determined "with the assent of the people of Taiwan" did not go far enough, the group's statement said. The word "assent" implies that the Taiwanese people needed to approve or endorse a decision made by the PRC, it added.
"We believe that only the people of Taiwan have the right to determine Taiwan's future -- not the people of the PRC. After all, in 1776, the people of England did not determine the future of America," the statement said.
The statement said recent Chinese rhetoric of using force against Taiwan if it declares independence meant the introduction of the resolution was very timely.
"We at the FAPA will seek to build up support for this resolution and hope we can bring it to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote next March when the actual referendum will take place in Taiwan," it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS