More than 400 independence advocates took to the streets yesterday in Taipei under the scorching sun, urging the public not to be “deceived” by the new government but to take the nation’s fate into its own hands.
Organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP), the marchers waved green flags with the shape of Taiwan in the center and shouted independence slogans. Banners read: “Be masters of Taiwan, not slaves of China.”
MYTH OR REALITY?
“There is no such thing as the Republic of China, only the nation of Taiwan,” TAUP chairman Tsai Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) said in a speech. “As Taiwanese, we must stop allowing a foreign regime to rule over this land. We must have the courage to stand up against the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] government to prevent four years of insults to and humiliation of the Taiwanese population.”
Tsai said it was “deeply regrettable” that the pro-localization Democratic Progressive Party lost the presidential election to the pro-unification KMT. The defeat should motivate more people to fight for Taiwan’s sovereignty, he said.
“No one [else] can determine the fate of Taiwan. Not the Chinese. Not the Americans. Only the Taiwanese people can determine Taiwan’s future,” he said.
Ninety-one-year-old Su Beng (史明), often called the “father of the Taiwanese independence movement,” was unable to attend the rally for health reasons but asked his personal assistant to read a statement he wrote.
In the statement, Su asked the public to cherish the Taiwanese culture that their forefathers so painstakingly contributed to and warned the public against being “brainwashed” again by a “foreign regime.”
POST-WWII
He said that after World War II, more than 60 colonized and occupied countries in Africa, the South Pacific and elsewhere declared independence. Taiwan’s struggle for independence, however, is still being obstructed by Beijing.
“Taiwan has a better than average economy and industries. We have more than 20 million people, yet we are still living under the shadow of colonialism,” he said, citing the KMT, the Chinese Communist Party and the disunity of the Taiwanese public as major stumbling blocks to de jure independence.
One demonstrator said she was disheartened by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) election victory in March.
NO CONFIDENCE
“I will never trust him to protect Taiwan’s national dignity,” said Lin Hsueh-chu (林雪珠), a Taipei City resident. “Opening Taiwan up to China will only bring Taiwan’s economy to an all-time low because China just can’t be trusted.”
Bai She-liu (白射榴), also at the rally, said he had taken time off from work to attend the march to “mourn Taiwan’s vanishing democracy.”
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
RSS