The name changes now coming into effect in Taiwan reflect an increasing approval of "Taiwan identity" rather than "Taiwan independence," despite the suggestions made in the disapproving rhetoric of the US, political analysts have said.
Last week, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) pledged to change the names of state-owned enterprises, the nation's embassies and overseas representative offices and other laws and regulations.
As a result, Chunghwa Post Co (
After the pan-blue camp voiced its opposition to the name changes, on Saturday US Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack said: "We do not support administrative steps by the Taiwan authorities that would appear to change Taiwan's status unilaterally or move toward independence. The United States does not, for instance, support changes in terminology for entities administered by the Taiwan authorities."
US comments
The US comments on changing the names reflected remarks made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
But political analysts said Ma overreacted and over-interpreted the name change issue.
"The US' reaction might be a little bit disturbing to the name-change bid but it did not oppose it directly because it does not violate President Chen's guarantees in his 2000 inaugural address," said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), the chairman of Soochow University's political science department.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chen's administration have prepared for the name changes for a long period of time and did not suddenly bring the issue up, Lo said.
"You will find the name-change campaign is actually linked with other issues of transitional justice and it does not necessarily relate to the concept of `Taiwan independence,'" Lo said.
"Taiwan identity" and "Taiwan independence" are two different matters, Lo said.
`recognition'
"For the people of Taiwan, pursing the recognition of `Taiwan identity' has been brought about by Taiwan's democratic development and the name change issue is emerging in this circumstance," he said.
Polls conducted by the government and by outside pollsters over the past decade show that a steadily increasing number of people recognize themselves as "Taiwanese" instead of "Chinese."
"I do not think the US can deny the increase of `Taiwan identity' because it is upheld by public opinion," Lo said. "The concept of independence is political, but the concept of having a clear identity is a natural process of democracy."
With the rise of "Taiwan identity," changing the names is an irresistible trend and will not go backwards, he said.
Bilateral negotiations and communication will be required to change the names of the nation's overseas embassies and representative offices, and the government will not seek to make immediate, unilateral changes.
The signs in Taiwan's embassies now display the word "Taiwan" in parenthesis under "Republic of China," Taiwan's official national title.
Hsu Yung-ming (
"I think Ma's comment was only aimed at causing panic and confrontation while ignoring the trend of Taiwan's public opinion," Hsu said.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS