《TAIPEI TIMES》 Alliance sends car to promote its referendum

INDEPENDENCE DRIVE: SDP convener Fan Yun said that Taiwan is at a critical juncture, but should not rely on the US to defend its sovereignty against China

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

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The Formosa Alliance yesterday dispatched a campaign car promoting a referendum on independence on an around-the-nation trip, alliance convener Kuo Bei-hung （郭倍宏） said as he called on people across party lines to counter Chinese obstructionism.

Noting that yesterday was China’s National Day, Kuo told a news conference at Liberty Square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei that China is the most barbaric nation in the world and a nasty neighbor for Taiwan, as it continues to menace with its military and disrupts Taiwanese participation in international activities.

Members of the New Power Party （NPP）, the Social Democratic Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, the Taiwan Radical Wings and the Green Party Taiwan joined Kuo at the news conference.

To demonstrate the ambitions of Taiwanese for national independence and their opposition to annexation by China, the alliance is organizing an Oct. 20 rally in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, said Kuo who is chairman of Formosa TV.

The car, which has a whale insignia to signal the “Taiwanese spirit of sailing to the world,” is to travel throughout Taiwan for 19 days ahead of the rally, he said.

NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang （黃國昌） said that while amendments to the Referendum Act （公民投票法） passed last year did not empower Taiwanese to propose anything related to constitutional amendments or independence, although the Democratic Progressive Party before it took office had promised they would, the NPP would continue pushing for such rights, even though it only has a few legislative seats.

Taiwan is at a critical juncture: It faces mounting pressure from China, but it should not rely on the US — which only cares about its own interests — to defend its sovereignty, SDP convener Fan Yun （范雲） said.

There is no better time than now to promote independence, Fan said.

The alliance, founded by Kuo, was launched on Feb. 28 to campaign for an independence referendum and to promote the nation’s entry into the UN using the name “Taiwan.”

It has been endorsed by former presidents Lee Teng-hui （李登輝） and Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁）, as well as members of other political parties.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES