Activist Lin Yi-fang (林一方) yesterday announced that he would go on a hunger strike starting at noon today outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei to protest against the party caucus’ draft name changes to a proposed cross-strait accords oversight act.
The caucus last month said it would redraft the bill in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, replacing the terms “Taiwan” and “China” in a previous draft to “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area.”
Lin, a supporter of Taiwanese independence, said he is prepared to hold out as long as he can or until the party tables a draft act that is in accordance with international standards.
Lin said the DPP during the Sunflower movement in 2014 promised it would table a legislative act to enforce full transparency and oversight for inter-party negotiations, “but its draft is now using terms that reflect the spirit of the ‘one country, two areas’ concept mentioned in that detestable Constitution.”
“The DPP has achieved absolute power, winning both the presidential election and a majority in the Legislative Yuan earlier this year, and it should focus on realizing its ideals that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation, instead of bowing to the ‘convenience’ of government by using terms in line with the Constitution,” Lin said.
It is an indignity for the DPP to use the terms “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area,” Lin said, adding it would also be a final nail in the coffin of any future self-determined solution for Taiwan.
“Going on a hunger strike is denying the body sustenance, to express the reverence toward becoming independent; there are things that can be allowed, and others that cannot. I am Taiwanese and I will die before I bow [to Chinese oppression],” Lin said.
Meanwhile, several Taiwan independence supporters, including Taiwan Friends Association president Huang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) and World United Formosans for Independence chairman Chen Nan-tien (陳南天), met with DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Monday to discuss the issue, expressing opposition to the proposed name change, saying it would blur the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty if the party continued on its current course, adding that the change could lead to the mistaken notion that Taiwan is a part of China.
Ker said he acknowledged their concerns, but added that ultimately he was only a member of the party and that the content and name of the DPP version of the act would have to be decided upon by DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
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