A group of Taiwanese independence supporters are on Aug. 18 to form a new political party whose Chinese-language name (一邊一國行動黨) roughly translates to “One Side One Country Action Party.”
While former premier Yu Shyi-kun, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, has refused to head the new party, he has agreed to be its “most senior adviser,” a source said yesterday.
Former National Taipei University of the Arts president Yang Chyi-wen (楊其文) is most likely to be the party’s chairman, the source added.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Yang declined to comment, saying that he was only a founding member of the party and that any decision on its chairperson would have to wait until its inception ceremony in Taipei on Aug. 18.
Other founding members include Taipei Hospital vice president Kuo Chang-feng (郭長豐), retired physician Kuo Cheng-deng (郭正典) and Janice Chen (陳昭姿), a member of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) volunteer civilian medical team.
Janice Chen said that the party’s platform is clear: Taiwan and China are sovereign nations.
The party would nominate individuals for next year’s legislative elections, she added.
Kuo Cheng-deng said that Yu had turned down the offer, because he did not wish to antagonize the DPP.
Chen Shui-bian, noted for saying in 2002 during his presidency that there is “one country on either side” (一邊一國) of the Taiwan Strait, on Saturday last week expressed support on Facebook for the idea of forming the new party.
While he has denied founding the party or being its spiritual leader, many within the new party perceive him as such, sources said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS