Academics yesterday said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
A General History of Taiwan was written in the 1920s by Lien's grandfather Lien Heng (連橫) as the first history book on Taiwan.
"The book was autographed by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) when his government came to Taiwan in 1949, so we infer that the book takes no position on Taiwan's identity," said Chen I-shen (陳儀深), deputy chairman of the Northern Taiwan Society and a research fellow at the Academia Sinica.
He said the book describes Taiwan as being ruled and built by the Qing Dynasty. But historical evidence shows Taiwan did not belong to China before 1684, the year it was occupied by Qing officials.
Chen said he did not know Lien's intentions in choosing to present the book as a gift to Chinese leaders.
"He might feel honor or feel proud of his grandfather for writing such a history book," he said. "But on the other hand, Lien has taken a pro-China position and supports the `one China' principle, so he might be taking the book with him to underscore Taiwan's historical relationship with China."
Chen said the book had not been written to oppose the Japanese colonial regime, and Lien Heng had managed to get two Japanese governors-general of Taiwan to autograph it.
And now, in addition to Chiang and Japanese colonial officials, Chinese leaders would also join in honoring the book, he said. The book, astonishingly, has been able to attract three hostile parties, but has no Taiwanese national identity in mind, he said.
He said, however, that the book contains many factual mistakes, adding that books such as Qing History and Ming History written by officials of the two dynasties, offered more accurate histories of Taiwan.
Yang Tsung-lin (
He said the book had originally been partly addressed to young Taiwanese, to help them learn and remember Chinese civilization despite being under Japan's colonial rule.
However, Wu Mi-cha (
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first