Taiwan must declare independence to become an equal member of the international community, Taiwan independence activist Su Beng (史明) said yesterday.
“Taiwanese must become independent,” Su, 97, told a crowd in a visit to Changhua County’s Lugang Township (鹿港). “Only then will we be able to determine our own affairs, and only then will we stand as an equal among the nations of the world.”
Su accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of colonialism, saying that during the Martial Law era, “the KMT held on to the belief that it would return to China. Therefore it thought of Taiwan only as a temporary residence for the interim period and ruled it as a colony, never considering itself Taiwanese.”
“The people who are truly from Taiwan are afraid to say that they are Taiwanese, and that is the Taiwanese tragedy, but fortunately, I believe the new Taiwanese generation has awoken, and hope has dawned in Taiwan,” Su said.
Su yesterday visited the campaign headquarters of Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Chen Wen-pin (陳文彬) in Changhua County to voice his support.
Su gave Chen a scroll of calligraphy he had authored that read: “Chaser of dragonflies, lover of the homeland and defender of the roots of Taiwan.”
“Su is an important thinker and revolutionary in the Taiwan independence movement and a steadfast champion working for men and women on the left of the political spectrum,” Chen said, adding that Su has been an inspiration for younger social justice activists.
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A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,