The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday called on President Chen Shui-bian (
"President Chen should initiate a `defensive referendum' once the country faces an external threat to its security, according to the Referendum Law (
"While China is expected to codify its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan in the proposed law, the people of Taiwan have the final say on whether Taiwan is part of China and whether they accept China's `non-peaceful' solution to cross-strait problems," Lo said.
If Chen refuses to do so, Lo said that the TSU caucus will seek an endorsement from lawmakers to launch such a referendum.
If the petition is thwarted by the pan-blue alliance, Lo said that his caucus will not rule out the possibility of collecting signatures from the public to petition the lawmaking body to launch a referendum.
Lo also pledged that it would propose an "anti-annexation law," which he dubbed "Taiwan's 11 articles," on Friday to counter China's "anti-secession" law, which is believed to have 11 articles.
TSU Legislator Mark Ho (何敏豪) said that China will change the status quo and sabotage peace in the Taiwan Strait if it passes the "anti-secession law" as expected.
In addition to calling on the government to respond to the soon-to-be-passed legislation in a pragmatic manner, Ho proposed a suspension of cross-strait exchanges.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said that the legislation serves as a smoke screen for its invasive actions against Taiwan.
"Taiwan is already an independent sovereign state and not part of China," Chen Chin-jun said. "The law, strewn with its invasive ambition, is bound to receive vehement opposition from the people of Taiwan and a negative response from the international community."
Chen assured the public that the DPP's stance on rejecting China's annexation remains changed, as well as its resolve to safeguard welfare of Taiwanese people, defend the sovereignty of Taiwan and precipitate cross-strait co-existence and peace.
Calling China's move "provocative," DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-teh (
"As Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state, the people of Taiwan will never accept any unilateral move to belittle the nation's sovereignty," he said.
"Nor can we tolerate any `non-peaceful' or undemocratic approach to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and undermine cross-strait peaceful development," he said.
The People First Party (PFP) caucus yesterday issued a statement, asking China to respect the will of Taiwanese people and Taiwan's change of political climate.
"Taiwan consciousness is not equal to Taiwan independence," the statement said.
"Any unilateral attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait will not be recognized by the international community nor by the people of both sides," the statement said.
The PFP also called on political parties and the general public to respond to the matter with composure and wisdom instead of provocation.
Echoing its PFP ally, KMT caucus whip Chen Chieh (陳杰) called on President Chen not to "provoke" China and push China to the verge of war.
"While most Taiwanese people are more concerned about their livelihood rather than politics, I'd like to see the president spend more time setting public policies concerning the people," he said.
However, Chen Chieh also asserted that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state that will not tolerate any attempt by Beijing to change or downgrade the status of Taiwan.
KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (
Shuai Hua-ming (
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS