Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

More independence word games

Taipei Times Editorial

Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) rhetoric regarding the nation’s de facto independence continued to snowball yesterday, with the pro-unification New Party urging the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to join it in taking Lai to court over an “offense of sedition.”

During his first Legislative Yuan appearance as premier on Tuesday, Lai defused politically sensitive questions from KMT lawmakers regarding his stance on the independence-unification issue with a carefully calibrated response.

Personal opinion and party lines

Taipei Times Editorial

It is normal for the head of a country’s executive branch to be clear about their nation’s status as an independent, sovereign state; to say that the government will seek to prioritize the interests of the nation, while being mindful of the need to cooperate with other nations; and to work to realize the will and interests of its citizens.

The reaction to Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) comments in the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday show just how far Taiwan’s situation is from normal.

Pardon for Chen, peace for Taiwan

Hsu Wun-pin 許文彬

The pan-green political camp has been on tenterhooks over whether former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is on medical parole after serving six years of a 20-year sentence for corruption, should be granted amnesty.

A motion in favor of amnesty was on the agenda of Sunday’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) National Congress, but was not addressed after the congress lost its quorum.

Lai reaffirms support for independence

Taipei Times

Premier William Lai delivers a report and answers lawmakers’ questions in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

Taiwan is a sovereign nation whose official title is the Republic of China, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are independent of each other.”

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