The Republic of China (ROC) Constitution is no longer functioning and the real “Taiwan Constitution” is the 12 additional articles of the ROC Constitution, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Taitung County.
He made the remark during a stop in Luye Township (鹿野) in response to a reporter’s question about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent comment that, according to the ROC Constitution, cross-strait relations are not state-to-state relations.
“What are the relations? Ma has to make that clear,” Lee said.
Lee, 90, played an instrumental role in most of the seven revisions or amendments to the Constitution between 1991 and 2005.
While the additional articles, which stipulate Taiwan is the “free area” of the ROC and China is the “mainland area,” state that they were enacted to “meet the requisite of the eventual national unification,” they reflected the de facto governance and state of the country after the ROC government fled to Taiwan after it lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Lee said he described the model of relations between Taiwan and China as a “special state-to-state” relationship” in 1999 to clarify Taiwan’s sovereignty and status because the nation’s legal status is unique.
“[The case of Taiwan] is so unique and unprecedented that legal experts have yet to find an explanation and solution,” Lee said.
“Sandwiched between the superpowers of the US and China, Taiwan should know exactly what it is, stand its ground and try to maintain its right to act on its own before it becomes an ‘absolute country’ and a member of the United Nations,” Lee said.
Lee, who said while campaigning for Ma when he ran for Taipei mayor in 1998 that Ma was a “New Taiwanese” and there was no doubt about Ma’s Taiwanese identity, yesterday lamented Ma’s subsequent shift on identity and national status.
Asked if he still viewed Ma as a new Taiwanese, Lee did not give a direct answer, but said: “You know why the ‘old Taiwanese’ are angry at him.”
Lee criticized Ma for not handling cross-strait affairs with Taiwan’s interests as his priority.
He said that was why Ma was not insisting, during the negotiations on establishing cross-strait representative offices, on the rights of Taiwanese officials to visit ROC citizens detained in China and the authority of its planned representative offices in China to issue travel documents.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS