Friday, October 14, 2011

Tsai’s recognition of ROC ‘dangerous,’ activist Koo says

By Chris Wang  /  Staff Reporter, in Greater Taichung

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) statement on the recognition of the Republic of China (ROC) was “dangerous,” senior Taiwanese independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said yesterday in an advertisement.

The DPP presidential candidate’s statement last week that “Taiwan is the ROC, the ROC is Taiwan” had “dangerously legalized and rationalized” the ROC, despite her attempt to use the theory to describe the “status quo” being understandable, Koo wrote in a half-page newspaper ad published yesterday.

In the ad, titled “Country of dignity, land of freedom and people of courage,” the former presidential adviser said Tsai had failed to inform the public about the “emptiness” of the ROC.

“In Taiwan, people have different points of view about the ROC. I respect Mr Koo’s opinion and I will find time to discuss the issue with him. However, I still think that Taiwanese should be inclusive of the ROC for the sake of harmony and solidarity,” Tsai said at a campaign stop in Greater Taichung yesterday when asked by reporters for comment about the ad.

Koo said “mixed perceptions” of the national identity have been one of the biggest problems for Taiwanese. He said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government was an alien regime when it retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The staunch independence supporter agreed with Tsai on other issues, though, saying that she is a presidential candidate with a Taiwan-centric viewpoint of history, as opposed to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who maintains a “one China” principle and insists that Taiwan is a region rather than a country.

Koo, 86, said the KMT was able to govern Taiwan using “two big lies” — the Constitution and the huge impact of the education system and the media.

“My greatest dream, as a Taiwanese, is to establish a country with the name Taiwan,” Koo said in the ad, adding that “would be the real ‘Taiwan consensus.’”