Former Taiwan presidents voice their support for referendum on island’s independence

At the moment, even if the referendum succeeds it will be non-binding

An initiative to hold a referendum in April 2019 on Taiwan independence was formally launched yesterday, with the backing of two former presidents.

At a campaign kick-off event, Lee Teng-hui, the President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000, told hundreds of pro-independence supporters that the referendum was the “most powerful weapon” that the people of Taiwan could use to set up a “normal country” with the official name of “Taiwan.”

At the moment, Taiwan is formally recognized, under the name of the “Republic of China,” by only 20 countries around the world, a number that continues to dwindle as Beijing persuades more and more developing nations in Central America, Africa, and in the Pacific to its side.

Because of pressure from China, Taiwan has been blocked from membership in the United Nations and other international organizations, and, at global events like the Olympics is forced to compete under the name of “Chinese Taipei” and under a different flag.

In a pre-recorded video message, Chen Shui-bian, who served as Taiwan’s president from 2000 to 2008 and is now out of jail on medical parole after serving six years of a 20-year sentence for corruption, said that Taiwan must demonstrate its independence from China and determine its own future.

“Taiwan is our country, not China’s,” Chen said. “We have to use our right to vote to show the world Taiwan’s will and determination that the country will never concede to the control of Communist Party of China.”

Of course, Taiwan independence remains a rather thorny issue for Beijing, which still considers the island part of its territory under the “one China” principle, and has never renounced using force to keep it that way.

In response to the referendum initiative, An Fengshan, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that “secessionist forces” are the “biggest threat to cross-Strait peace, development, and common interests,” stressing that the “one China” principle is the foundation for friendly, peaceful relations across the strait.

Since taking office in May 2016, Taiwan’s current president Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, has refused to acknowledge the principle, leading to Beijing taking a less-than-friendly stance towards relations with Taipei.

Last September , Ma Xiaoguang, another Taiwan Affairs office spokesman, declared that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of Chinese territory, has never been a country and can never become a country.”

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council then responded that no matter what Beijing said, it was an “objective reality” that the Republic of China was a sovereign state.

“Taiwan’s future and the development of relations across the Strait will be jointly decided by Taiwan’s 23 million people,” the council said.

However, questions related to constitutional issues, including sovereignty issues, can not be decided through referendums in Taiwan. Meaning that even if the planned referendum in April 2019 is successful, it will still be non-binding.

At Wednesday’s press conference, supporters of the referendum called on the DPP to change the law, allowing for issues of sovereignty to be put to a popular vote.