China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng’s (高志鵬) proposal that Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) be removed as the nation’s founding father is a move aimed at de-sinicization that threatens the “status quo” of peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Gao has proposed amendments to the National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act (中華民國國徽國旗法) and the Oath Act (總統副總統宣誓條例), saying that Sun’s status as founding father was “created” by former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to justify Chiang’s rule.
Taiwan’s heads of state should not be obliged to bow before a figure that is unrelated to Taiwan’s modern democratic society, Gao said.
TAO spokesperson An Fongshan (安峰山) yesterday told a news conference that the office is paying close attention to how the debate is presented in Taiwanese media, adding that such rhetoric threatens peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Sun was a revered forebear of China’s modern democratic revolution and his goal of unifying the nation and returning the “Chunghwa people” to a position of power should be respected and revered by all of Chunghwa descent, he said.
Commentators have noted that An did not refer to Sun as a founding father, but merely as Mr Sun.
The TAO has not commented on the DPP’s recent proposal to redraft a proposed bill on monitoring cross-strait agreements in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, by changing the terms “Taiwan” and “China” to the “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area.”
Taiwan and China are part of “one China,” and cross-strait relations are not on a nation-to-nation basis, An said, adding that China’s stance on Taiwanese independence has not changed and China’s interaction with Taiwan would continue to be based on the “one China” principle.
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