Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Civic groups and academics yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for disregarding the bid for UN membership under the name Taiwan and warned that Ma’s inaction on the diplomatic front would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty.

“While Taiwan is a de facto independent country, we need to work hard to make it a de jure independent country and applying for membership of the UN under the name of Taiwan is the only way to do this,” the nation’s former representative to Japan, Koh Se-kai (許世楷), told a symposium.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could pressure Taiwan more aggressively and seek to terminate the country’s de facto independence at a faster pace after its transfer of power at the 18th National Congress scheduled next month, Chinese dissident writer Yuan Hongbing (袁紅冰) said yesterday in Taipei.

“After those Chinese officials who served among the radical Red Guards formed by former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 rise to political power at the national congress, they may carry through Mao’s political volition and adopt a more aggressive approach toward Taiwan,” Yuan said at a symposium, titled “A Peek into the Future Democratic Development via China’s Current State” hosted by the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association.