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One of the top stories from this past week was that Taiwan celebrated the 104th National Day of the Republic of China (ROC) on Saturday. The Republic of China was founded in 1912 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and is now the official name of the government of Taiwan.
The theme of this year’s celebrations is “Standing in Taiwan with an Eye on the World.” The official celebration in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei lasted for more than two hours. It featured a parade that mobilized nearly 7,000 people, and an official ceremony. There were also performances including dancing, singing, and a flyover by the airforce’s Thunder Tigers Aerobatic Team.
President Ma Ying-jeou gave a National Day address titled “Taiwan’s Future: Sustaining Peace and Prosperity.” Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng and an overseas Taiwanese representative from the Philippines also each gave a short speech.
About 4,000 overseas Taiwanese returned to Taiwan to celebrate the occasion. They come from the United States, the UK, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, many participating in the celebrations for the first time.
Dignitaries from Honduras, Swaziland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Guatemala, Japan and the United States were also in attendance.
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Also this past week, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) decided to hold a special national congress, with the likely intention of replacing its presidential candidate with just three months to go before the elections. The current candidate – Legislature Vice President Hung Hsiu-chu – is trailing behind the opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen by double-digits.
Hung’s likely replacement would be KMT Chairman Eric Chu, who is also the current mayor of New Taipei City.
On Friday, Chu said that he admired Hung and that she had worked hard throughout the campaign. But he fell short of offering her an apology. He said he would offer an explanation at the upcoming national congress.
Hung has said that she has no intention of stepping out of the race. As to whether she will attend the upcoming national congress, Chu said that she would be there, since she is still the KMT’s candidate, and an important member of the party.
Meanwhile President Ma Ying-jeou, who is a former chairman of the KMT, has said he would support a KMT decision to replace Hung as the party’s candidate.
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And finally, this past week, the 2015 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference opened last Sunday, US Time, in Virginia with an emphasis on cybersecurity and the sale of submarines.
At the opening ceremony, US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers spoke about the possibility of Taiwan buying submarines from the United States. He said that there will be a window of opportunity for that to happen. However, he said that with both Taipei and Washington set to elect a new president next year, it remains to be seen how that will develop.
Hammond-Chambers’ remarks follow on the heels of a recent comment by a Taiwanese defense ministry official, who said Taiwan is also hoping to acquire from the United States the technology needed to build its own submarines.