The formal version of the resolution stands as a symbol of the DPP's progress in democratic values, according to a DPP statement issued that day. The resolution claimed that the past 50 years of authoritarian rule under the Kuomintang has caused great injustice and conflict over national identity.
Even after the DPP became the ruling party, Taiwan society has still suffered from abnormality in its diplomatic relationships, constitutional system, national identity, social justice and partisan competition, the statement noted. Moreover, China constantly isolated Taiwan and infringed upon the rights of Taiwanese people. The DPP's motivation for proposing this resolution is to declare that the party will make efforts to rectify the country's name, form a new constitution and join the United Nations.
The resolution stated that the DPP's other task is to push forward its two planned referendums on forcing the main opposition KMT to return its illegally-obtained party assets to the national treasury and enter the United Nations under the name "Taiwan."
The DPP started to draft this declaration of "normal country" resolution Aug. 1 to emphasize that Taiwan is an independent nation. DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung explained that since the People's Republic of China abused the country's official title to claim Taiwan is a part of China, "we should rectify our name and formulate a new constitution." The resolution asserted that neither Taiwan nor China was under the authority of the other. The government, therefore, should use the name "Taiwan" when establishing diplomatic relationships with other countries and normalize its relations with China.
The DPP made similar declarations in the past, such as the "party charter for Taiwan independence" of 1991 and the "resolution on Taiwan's future" of 1999. Nonetheless, these two declarations never mentioned the need to change the country's name, while they stressed its independence.
The congress was designated as a pep rally to promote the party's presidential candidates for the March 22, 2008 election. Hosted by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung, 328 party delegates attended the half-day national congress. Heavyweights like President Chen Shui-bian, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and the DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh did not attend the congress, however, due to the controversy over the wording of the "normal country" resolution.
Three versions of the resolution were proposed for discussion at the congress: the Yu version, a version proposed by legislator Tang Huo-shen on the spot, and the consensus version that was reached at a Sept. 26 meeting of party leaders chaired by Chen, according to a Sept. 30 report by Taiwan's Central News Agency.
Yu's version applied more radical wording to suggest that the country's title should be changed into "Taiwan" and that Taiwan should then formally declare to the international community that it already is an independent nation. Tang's version asked to change the national name to "Taiwan" as soon as possible. The consensus version was more moderate, pledging that the party would make efforts to change the country's name and write a new constitution, while holding a referendum to demonstrate that Taiwan has been a sovereign state.
After two hours of debate, Yu's proposal had only 43 votes out of 328 delegates present, and Tang's version earned 30 votes. In the end, the moderate consensus version won support from an overwhelming majority of the DPP congress.
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw