Pro-independence groups yesterday urged the US to firmly stand by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and its commitments, marking the 33rd anniversary of the US law.
Led by 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign convener Peter Wang (王獻極), about 100 representatives of civic groups gathered in front of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) office in Taipei to commemorate the anniversary of TRA being signed into law.
They also submitted a letter to US President Barack Obama.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The law, which defines the US’ position on Taiwan and relations between Americans and Taiwanese, was signed into law by then-US president Jimmy Carter on April 10, 1979, after the US established official diplomatic relations with China.
In the letter, the independence supporters expressed appreciation for the US’ efforts to help maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait, but also showed concern about the US’ “obvious support” for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during the recent presidential election campaign and talk of “the US abandoning Taiwan.”
The groups called for Washington to stand by the TRA and call on the 48 signatory countries of the Treaty of San Francisco to initiate a referendum for Taiwanese to determine their future.
They also said the Republic of China government-in-exile does not hold legitimacy over Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Four representatives met with AIT spokesperson Chris Kavanagh, who pledged to deliver the letter to Washington, telling the representatives that the TRA was as important to the US as it was to Taiwan.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS