The best present for Mother's Day

Lung-chu Chen

To protest against the UN Web site identifying Taiwan as a "Pro-vince of China," students from National Taiwan University, Na-tional Taiwan Normal University and Soochow University have launched a movement to rectify the name, appealing for each citizen to send a letter to demand that the Web site and its related international documents use "Taiwan" as the official name of the nation.

This campaign has echoes in a name-rectification march that will be held today. Similarly, at a recent symposium convened to discuss strategies to boost Tai-wan's WHO bid, the participants concluded that the nation should become a WHO observer under the name "Taiwan."

Mobilizing all the people to change the name of the country has become much more urgent, since this movement has an effect on the fundamental human rights of every person in Taiwan. "Rectifying" the name does not mean "changing" the name, but getting back the unique name which belongs to the people of Taiwan in the first place. If the people of this nation, regardless of age, still fail to call out the name of our mother -- Taiwan -- in the international community, this country will end up as just a Chinese province due to the proliferating effect of the UN Web site.

The damage to cultural, academic and technological standards will spread and harm the nation's politics, economy and society. In today's world, "China" certainly refers to the PRC, but not the ROC.

Since its foundation in 1949, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan for even one day, but it still disseminates the lie that "Taiwan is a province of China." We must no longer put up with this lie; nor must we remain silent. Taiwan is not under the jurisdiction of China. Taiwan and China are independent states that are not subordinate to each other.

All those who identify Taiwan as their own nation are Taiwan-ese. All the Taiwanese should say aloud, "Taiwan is not a province of China."

The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan (台灣正名運動聯盟) is scheduled to hold a large-scale march today. The parade will set out from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at 2pm regardless of the weather.

Enthusiastically taking part in the march is what we, the Tai-wanese, should do. Let's take to the streets to rectify the name for our mother, Taiwan, and rehabilitate her due dignity and status. This shall be the best Mother's Day present.

Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the New Century Foundation.