Taiwan foreign minister under fire over island name change

Asia-Pacific News

Jun 5, 2008, 10:52 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's foreign minister Thursday came under fire from pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over his recent decision to drop the island's politically sensitive Taiwan title from official documents issued by the ministry. 'What's wrong with using the Taiwan title? Does that mean the foreign ministry wants to ditch the Taiwanese identity, which Ma Ying-jeou has said he would safeguard?' asked DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan. Cheng's criticism came after Foreign Minister Francisco Ou confirmed earlier on Thursday he had asked the ministry change the island's official name back to the Republic of China (ROC) in documents, statements and letters issued by the ministry. Ou also said he had asked ministry's officials to address China as 'Chinese mainland' or 'mainland China' instead of People's Republic of China or simply China, references used by the former DPP government to separate Taiwan and China as two separate countries. The DPP, which advocates Taiwan independence, had done all it can to cut the island's historic link with China during its eight years of rule in Taiwan since 2000. But the trend has reversed since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) won the presidency in the March election. DPP's Cheng criticized Ou for trying to launch a 'de-Taiwanization' campaign and criticized Prime Minister Ma for breaking his promise to safeguard the island's self-rule identity. 'Ma said in his run-up to the presidential election he loved Taiwan and would remain every inch Taiwanese even if he were burnt to ashes, but after he becomes president, he drops the Taiwan title like trash,' Cheng said. His harsh comments prompted Ou to call for a halt on the reversal of the designation later Thursday. 'We could decide what to use after reaching a general consensus among the public,' Ou said.

View blog reactions

If you liked this story please support M&C and Buzz the site on Yahoo.

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Talkback

There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Second presidential debate; no 'gamechanger' ? - Global Eye on October 8, 2008 5:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Debate: did McCain do enough? - Global Eye on September 29, 2008 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (1)

Should Sen. John McCain's health records be made public? - Global Eye on September 15, 2008 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival - Estomago - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival : It's Hard To Be Nice - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

London Film Festival - Dean Spanley - London Calling on October 6, 2008 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Devotee to Chinese Shrine of Sapam has face pierced - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Indian Muslims offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan foreign minister under fire over island name change

Asia-Pacific News

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

Similar articles

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print