In the face of the administration’s elaborate plans to celebrate the Republic of China’s (ROC) centennial, a pro-independence group yesterday said it was teaming up with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to hold a march on Sept. 8 to reaffirm Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Former Examination Yuan president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), who heads the Taiwan Nation Alliance, said at least three major events would be held this year.
In addition to the annual commemoration of the 228 Incident on Feb. 28, Yao said the alliance would organize a third conference on national affairs on March 19 under the theme “Building a Taiwan republic and expanding its international space.”
This would be followed by the parade on Sept. 8 to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, which Yao said confirmed Taiwan’s existence as a sovereign state, after Japan renounced all rights over it on Sept. 8, 1951. Representatives from Taiwan and China were not present at the signing of the treaty.
“The event [march] will seek to highlight Taiwan as a sovereign state, in contrast to the [ROC] celebration activities being organized by the administration, however difficult it is to understand what they are about,” he said.
Several pro-independence organizations in Taiwan and abroad view the ROC as a foreign regime imposed on Taiwan after the KMT retreated to Taiwan following its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949.
The alliance hosted a forum yesterday to examine the government’s performance in the past year and its prospects this year.
Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an executive member of the alliance, accused the administration of believing in what he referred to as the fictitious “1992 consensus” — a term coined by former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) that has become a cornerstone of the Ma administration’s dialogue with Beijing and whose validity as a basis for talks has been put into question by various politicians.
Chen said that while he was in favor of a plan by the DPP to engage China without preconditions, how Beijing would react to the proposal remained to be seen.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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