Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (
Huang's call comes as Taiwan's electorate faces the possibility of having two referendums on the same issue when they vote for a new president next March
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has proposed holding a referendum on whether to join the UN using the name "Taiwan" while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has suggested another referendum on "rejoining" the body using the country's official name -- the Republic of China (ROC).
Huang said he told Chen during their 50-minute meeting at the Presidential Office yesterday morning that he realized a majority of the Taiwanese people wanted to join the UN and a referendum on the nation's membership would let the international community hear the voice of the people of Taiwan.
Later yesterday Chen said that he was still thinking over Huang's proposal.
Huang said he was worried that neither of the proposed referendums would pass and if that happened, a second referendum on the same topic would be forbidden for the next three years, as stipulated by the Referendum Law (公投法).
Failure could be disastrous as the international community would then have more legitimacy to oppose Taiwan's UN campaign, Huang said.
While former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said on Wednesday that he did not think it was a good idea to hold the referendum concurrently with the election, Huang yesterday said he did not think Lee was against the referendum and his party did not have any set agenda on the matter.
But he said he hoped Chen would call a meeting to decide the best time to hold the referendum as well as the best question to ask in order to get the most favorable result.
Commenting on criticism of the plan from US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen, Huang said that he understood the US' position but the administration was not obliged to act on it.
Instead of opposing the campaign, Huang said the US government should support Taiwan's democracy.
"The administration must think about what needs to be done in line with Taiwan's best interests and at the same time maintain its friendship with the US," he said.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday again called on the KMT and the DPP to drop their demands for referendums.
It could "put Taiwan in a difficult position when it comes to expanding its international space" if the parties stick to their plans because of election concerns without giving any thought to the international situation, Wang said.
"I fear [the referendums] will do the nation more harm than good because it might find itself more isolated than ever in the international community," Wang said.
He echoed Huang in calling for a national conference to resolve the issue.
In related news, several DPP lawmakers yesterday rejected Lee's disapproval of the referendum campaign after he spoke out against tying the referendums to the presidential election and said that Taiwan is not qualified to be a UN member as its legal status has yet to be confirmed.
"Joining the UN has the support of more than 70 percent of the public. If now is not the right time to hold a referendum, when is?" DPP legislative caucus whip Wang Tuoh (
Responding to the US' criticism, Wang Tuoh said that the US might have mistakenly assessed Taiwan's circumstances, as no single politician is able to suspend the referendum campaign as joining the UN is mainstream opinion in Taiwan.
TSU Legislator Lin Jih-jia (
"Lee sees the bid as the right thing to do, but thinks it shouldn't be rushed," Lin said.
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS