The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday rejected speculation that the party would draw up a new resolution on Taiwan’s status.
DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the Resolution on Taiwan’s Future (台灣前途決議文) was the bottom line and there was no need to write a new resolution to replace it.
The resolution states that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country and that change to the “status quo” of independence should require the approval of the people of Taiwan in a national referendum. Taiwan does not belong to the People’s Republic of China, the resolution says, rejecting the “one China” principle and “one country, two systems” model promoted by China.
Tsai made the remarks in response to questions about a report published in the Chinese-language United Evening Express yesterday. The report claimed the DPP was planning to draft a resolution on the nation’s sovereignty and future development to be debated at the party’s National Congress on July 20.
The report said the Party Reform Task Force formed a five-person team to author the draft. The new resolution would emphasize the importance of Taiwan’s sovereignty and undertake to differentiate the DPP from the pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the report said.
DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday dismissed the report as “groundless.”
Individual members of the task force may have had the idea of proposing a new resolution, but the party has no plan to do so, Cheng said.
Cheng said the newspaper had confused the facts, and the five-person team was indeed tasked with looking into revising the party platform. The task force, which meets twice a week, will look at three main issues: revising the party platform, internal party discipline and the party’s evaluation and nomination processes, Cheng said. The task force will propose a reform package on June 18 for debate at the National Congress.
The task force met yesterday. It’s work is ongoing and it has not reached its conclusions yet, Cheng said, adding that the group would meet again tomorrow.
Former DPP legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), a member of the task force, filed a motion yesterday to restore the party’s Department of Chinese Affairs, which was integrated with the Department of International Affairs. The party must have a separate unit to examine cross-strait issues as formal cross-strait talks are set to begin next Wednesday, he said.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS