An advocacy group focusing on opposition to the so-called “one China” principle and the erosion of Taiwan’s sovereignty under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is set to be established on Monday, the group’s founding members told a press conference yesterday.
The Anti-One China Principle Union is a non-partisan group cofounded by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山), Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) and former DPP lawmaker Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮).
Acknowledgement of the “one China” principle — the core strategy of China’s Taiwan policy — could jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty, democracy, freedom and human rights, they said.
“However, the Ma administration’s pro-Beijing stance and the DPP’s failure to monitor the administration and its tendency to move to a more China-friendly position have aroused concern over the gradual erosion of sovereignty,” Chen said.
Chai will serve as the president of the union, with Chen and Hsu as vice presidents, Hsu said, adding that other notable members include former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) and former Examination Yuan president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文). Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former presidential adviser Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) are to serve as consultants.
Chai and Chen criticized former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) for his “pro-Beijing position.”
Responding to the criticism yesterday afternoon in a radio interview with Cheng Hong-yi (鄭弘儀), Hsieh denied that he “had betrayed Taiwan’s independence movement” and said that “closer engagement with China did not mean surrender.”
Hsieh, who advocates a moderate China policy with his initiative of “constitutions with different interpretations,” described himself as a “pragmatic idealist” and very different from the “hardliners” of the pro-independence wing, such as Chai and Chen.
“They insist on their belief, while I’m an idealist who focuses on reality. We should work together to strive for Taiwan’s dignity,” Hsieh said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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