Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Addressing a forum held by the think tank Taiwan Advocates to promote the creation of a new constitution, Lee said that the people of Taiwan need to shrug off the mentality of being a "long-term laborer" after being ruled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for half a century, and take up the responsibility of being the master of their own country.
Lee told a large group of supporters that the biggest problem with the current ROC Constitution was that it had been created in China and was not designed to fit the needs of Taiwan.
"Although Taiwan has experienced many democratic transitions in the past decade and the referendum concept has become part of mainstream public opinion, Taiwanese still need to strengthen their determination to be the host in their own country.
"Therefore, we have to stand up bravely to make rational and practical plans to create our own constitution and express our own opinions to decide this country's policies through the referendum. We will no longer be manipulated by those opposing voices telling us to give up our own rights," Lee said.
Lee also accused the opposition camp, led by the KMT and its splinter group, the People First Party, of obstructing the democratic initiatives in Taiwan, which he said were a result of the former authoritarian rulers' disdain for the Taiwanese people and their skepticism that Taiwanese can rule their own country.
He said that the pan-blue alliance's opposition to Taiwan's first referendum reflected its long-term aversion to further democratization. Lee said this was also reflected in their resistance to public presidential elections in 1994.
Singling out Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who opposed the direct presidential election in 1994 and is now one of the strongest opponents of the government's referendum proposition, Lee said the blue camp's opposition to the referendum was a repetition of their behavior in 1994, when they insisted that the president be elected through a representative system, rather than by the people.
Lee said that Taiwan faces four major problems: the national identity issue; an incomplete nation, which could be corrected by rewriting the Constitution; the increasing interactions brought about by cross-Strait economic activities, which, if not handled properly, could drag down Taiwan's competitiveness; and the security issue across the Taiwan Strait.
He said the people of Taiwan needed to use their own wisdom to ensure that their right to govern themselves is not undermined by foreign influences and domestic opposition.
Lee said the US and France's opposition to Taiwan's referendum served only their own interests, in addition to being a sell-out of democracy.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is