Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

VP candidates tackle Constitution in debate

Taipei Times

The three vice presidential candidates yesterday wrangled over foreign policy and the Constitution in a televised debate.

In her opening remarks, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Taiwan must strive to keep pace in a fast-changing world.

The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) plans, such as reintroducing the cross-strait service trade agreement and opening up Taiwan to large groups of Chinese university students, allowing them to seek jobs in the nation after obtaining degrees, are examples of its “old mindset,” Hsiao said.

Taiwan’s Constitution and America’s ‘One China’ Policy

John J. Tkacik, Jr.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Last Monday was Christmas and, of course, in Taiwan, December 25 is also remembered as “Constitution Day,” marking the adoption of the Republic of China Constitution in Nanking on that date in 1947. Despite the exile of the National Government in Nanking to Nationalist-occupied post-war Taipei and the permanent dissolution of political bands across the Strait in 1949, the 1947 Constitution still encompasses a profound legacy for Taiwan. It is a legacy most important for the twelve supplementary constitutional amendments, the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文), adopted after 1990 which have made Taiwan the most democratic country in Asia.

The late President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) stressed to me, the last time we talked privately in 2007, the legitimacy of the Republic of China as an “orthodox successor state” (正統的繼承國家) to the old “Republic of China” on the China mainland and its constitution.

Hou parrots the CCP, deep-blue line

Jethro Wang 王濬

In the second televised presidential debate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, said that the “sacred mountain protecting the nation” (護國神山) in cross-strait relations is the “Republic of China [ROC] Constitution.”

Hou also vowed to apply the so-called “1922 consensus” to cross-strait issues. He wants to use the Constitution to buttress the “1992 consensus” and parrot China’s line of calling the “consensus” the “anchor” of cross-strait relations.

Abe’s Taiwan statement is a myth

Masahiro Matsumura

With Beijing’s hostile rhetoric trumpeted and its saber increasingly rattled, Taiwanese are naturally looking to Japan to supplement and complement US military power. The sense of necessity is considerable since the US has experienced serious relative decline vis-a-vis China, now compounded severely by the protracted war in Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.

The US might not be able to cope with three concurrent major regional conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Northeast Asia, and thus is an increasingly less reliable sole security guarantor for Taiwan.

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