By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Wu Rong-i, a candidate in the Democratic Progressive Party chairperson election, speaks at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not need to change its China policy and it should not give up on Taiwanese independence if Beijing asks it to do so, DPP chairperson candidate Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) said yesterday.
The former vice premier, one of five candidates in the DPP’s May 27 chairperson election, said the DPP’s resolution on Taiwan’s future clearly states the party’s position. The resolution defines Taiwan as a sovereign country separate from China, while acknowledging the Republic of China (ROC) as the country’s formal title, Wu said.
The resolution, passed in 1999, still represents the DPP’s basic position toward cross-strait relations, he said.
On Beijing’s opposition to Taiwanese independence, Wu said Taiwan, as a sovereign country, should not sacrifice its sovereignty in exchange for closer engagement with China.
“Taiwan is already sovereign and independent,” he said yesterday. “There is no such issue as a ‘declaration of independence.’”
Wu, who was backed by independence supporters, declined to comment on the establishment of a “China policy committee” for the party, which has been proposed by former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who is seen as the strongest candidate.
The Wu campaign said it agreed with the three-point “shared platform” proposed by former DPP chairperson Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良).
The three proposed points include a pledge not to run in the 2016 presidential election, not to get involved in party faction operations and advocating a presidential pardon for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).