Lawmakers yesterday called for the removal or replacement of a map in the Legislative Yuan which places the capital of the Republic of China (ROC) in Nanjing, and portrays Mongolia as part of its territory.
Replacing the map with one that accurately reflects the nation is an important first step before tackling other issues, such as moving the Legislative Yuan or amending the Constitution, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said.
The map, near a stairwell in one of the legislature’s buildings, often appears on TV when reporters interview legislators.
Photo: Wu Su-wei, Taipei Times
It was put up in 2016 after a previous map had been defaced, and the Chinese characters for “Taiwan” removed, a source said.
As officials were unable to purchase a replacement map large enough, they sourced one from the military, which was older with outdated markings, the source said.
Authorities at the time appended the map with the statement: “The boundaries on this map do not conform to political fact.”
“With the way it portrays the ROC territory, that map is like one from a parallel universe — it is out of step with current thinking,” Chen said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said that the map would only “lead people to engage in fantasies,” and called on the legislature to replace it.
Hanging a factually inaccurate map in the legislature was meaningless, he said.
“That map might be confusing for foreign visitors or members of the public, especially since the map depicts Taiwan on the periphery of the ROC,” New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said, adding that this was “unfair to the 23 million people” of Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) said that the map is accurate, until the Constitution and laws are amended to change the nation’s official territory.
The legislature should proceed cautiously and hear the various opinions on the matter before replacing the map, he said.
Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) said the legislature was already discussing the issue, and that if it could find a suitable map it would replace it.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
RSS