Taipei-ites March to Demand Name Change

[weatherlover427]

Taiwan Activists March, Demand Name Change
Sat Sep 6, 9:54 AM ET By Alice Hung

TAIPEI (Reuters) - At least 50,000 people demonstrated in Taipei on Saturday calling for the island's official name to be changed from the Republic of China to Taiwan, a move Beijing would likely regard as a step toward independence.

Protesters chanted "Taiwan people, Taiwan nation" and "Use the name Taiwan to join the United Nations (news - web sites)" as they slowly marched through Taipei's city center to the presidential office.

With presidential elections six months away, President Chen Shui-bian did not join the rally to avoid alienating mainstream voters, but said he supported the call.

"If I were not the president, I would have participated in the event," said Chen, who has mellowed his pro-independence stance since taking office, but refuses to embrace Beijing's one-China principle that states Taiwan is a part of China.

Witnesses said more than 50,000 people took part, while organizers estimated the turnout could top 100,000 people. Many participants were bused in from the south by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and other pro-independence parties.

SELF-GOVERNING TAIWAN

"Taiwan is Taiwan. It has never run mainland China. Why should we insist on calling our country the Republic of China?" asked Chen Feng-ming, a 45-year-old businesswoman from the southern city of Kaohsiung.

The name "Republic of China" is a legacy from when the former ruling Nationalist Party ruled mainland China before fleeing to Taiwan after losing a civil war to the Communists in 1949. The government in Beijing took the name "People's Republic of China."

Beijing insists there is only one China and regards self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be eventually reunified, by force if necessary.

Although an overwhelming majority of the Taiwan public wants to maintain the ambiguous status quo, local politics is bitterly split between groups favoring independence for the island or eventual union with the mainland.

The protesters demanded the government use the name Taiwan when it applies to join the United Nations later this month. Beijing and its allies have blocked Taiwan's membership bid every year since 1993.

Supporters of reunification with China planned to hold a counter-protest on Sunday.

The Saturday event was mostly peaceful, though a scuffle erupted outside the Nationalist headquarters when a small group of independence activists tried to set fire to a flag. No injuries were reported.

Former president Lee Teng-hui, 80, joined the rally and was greeted by flag-waving supporters with airhorns.

SELF-AWAKENING MOVEMENT

"Today's event is a self-awakening movement of the people," Lee said. "For a long period of time, we let the external forces determine how we should live. We can't let history block the democracy and the development of the country anymore."

Retiree Liu Chia-hsiung agreed.

"We elect our own president and parliament. We are, in fact, an independent country, not a part of China," said Liu, 65, wearing a white T-shirt and baseball cap.

"If we don't change our name, we will eventually be swallowed by the Chinese communists," said Liu, marching with his five-year-old grandson.

The protesters demanded the government remove any reference to the mainland and change the names of many state-controlled companies, including Chinese Petroleum Corp, China Steel, China Airlines and China Shipbuilding Corp.

The government began adding the word "Taiwan" in English to the cover of its new passports -- a decision slammed by Beijing.

Democratic but diplomatically isolated Taiwan is recognized by fewer than 30 countries and barred from most international organizations. Taiwan was ousted from the United Nations in 1971 and was replaced by China.

[coriolis]

I thought that Taiwan is being absorbed by China. Or is that Hong Kong?