September 12-18, 2011
Headline News
A Taiwan Republic, flag, and anthem raised on “Taiwan Independence Day”
Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong
Written by Lydia Ma
On September 8, 1951, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco wherein it relinquished its sovereignty over Taiwan. However, the treaty didn’t specify whether Taiwan would be returned to “China” or “Republic of China”, leaving the future of Taiwan undetermined. For this reason, many proponents of Taiwanese independence see this date as the day Taiwan became “independent”.
Every year since 2005, the Taiwan Republic Campaign has organized a flag raising ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace on Ketagalan Boulevard on September 8 to mark “Taiwan Independence Day”. On this occasion, a new flag symbolizing Taiwan is raised on a mast and the song “Taiwan the Formosa” is played and sung instead of the current national anthem before the crowd finally salute the flag. This year, “Taiwan the Formosa” was sung at 2:28 p.m. to remember February 28 Peace Memorial Day and the flag flew on the mast for an hour.
According to the founder of Taiwan Republic Campaign, Wang Hsien-chi, the consensus among Taiwanese people is that Taiwan is an independent country, and the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is a “state-to-state” relationship. The “1992 consensus”, which as been brought to the fore in recent days, is a relic of the past and the Ma administration is using it to confuse people.
Yikuang Presbyterian Church pastor, Rev. Cheng Ying-er, was invited to speak during the ceremony. He lamented that Taiwan never became a fully-fledged member of the international community after the Treaty of San Francisco. He underscored that the “Republic of China” not only caused Taiwan to leave the United Nations, but also isolated Taiwan into a corner.
He called on Taiwanese people to remember that Taiwan is a gift from God and they should respond to God with gratitude through efforts to make Taiwan a new and independent country. He then led the congregation in prayer, reminding them to rely on God instead of “allies” whenever the country faces dangers and threats.
