New pro-independence party needed to supervise DPP government: Chen Shui-bian

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/27
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is on medical

parole, hinted on Friday that he would form a pro-independence political party in August.

Chen, 68, said via a Facebook post that he is “pleased to see the birth of a new political party, the ‘One Country on One Side Action Party’.” He is still a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Chen, who was convicted of three bribery charges, was released from prison on medical parole in 2015 after serving five years of a 20-year sentence. Therefore, it is unclear whether Chen would play an active role in the forming of the possible new political party.

Chen has criticized the DPP, which holds a majority of seats in the legislature, for not pushing ahead with legislation that would help realize his idea of “one country on one side.” He proposed the concept in his second term along with taking actions in the direction of formal independence, leading to a deterioration in relations between Taiwan and the United States, which has opposed unilateral changes to cross-strait relations made by either China or Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]