Taiwan Asserts Independence
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TAIPEI – Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party passed a resolution today to assert the island’s separate identity from rival China and call for the enactment of a new constitution.
The resolution for a “normal country” — passed at a boisterous party congress — calls for general use of “Taiwan” as the island’s name, without specifically abolishing its current formal name, the Republic of China.
The move could rile China, which has repeatedly threatened war if Taiwan formalizes its de facto independence.
The congress comes ahead of the presidential election next March. The pro-independence DPP has resorted to a strategy of provoking China to help it garner islanders’ votes in past national elections.
