Proposed flag of Taiwan

Several proposals for a flag of Taiwan have been initiated by supporters of Taiwan independence to replace the flag of the Republic of China as the national flag flown over Taiwan. Supporters of Taiwan independence object to the use of the flag of the Republic of China since it was designed by and closely associated with the Kuomintang. [ [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/11/16/0000179785 Editorial: Taiwan needs a flag to call its own] , "Taipei Times", Nov 16, 2002, Accessed Jan. 9, 2006.] However, no single flag has been established as the symbol of the independence movement, and more moderate supporters of Taiwan independence, such as the Democratic Progressive Party, have accepted the flag of the Republic of China for the time being and have not pushed for a new flag.

Prominent proposals

In 1996, a "New Name, New Flag, New Anthem" campaign was launched to rename the Republic of China, replace the flag of the Republic of China, and the National Anthem of the Republic of China, all of which were brought to Taiwan when the Kuomintang government retreated to the island in 1949. [ [http://www.taiwandc.org/new-flag.htm A new flag for a new Taiwan] , "New Taiwan, Ilha Formosa", September 2, 1996. Accessed January 9, 2006.] After a contest in which 187 different flags were entered, the "hearts-in-harmony flag" emerged as the winner. The green field was to symbolize the natural beauty of the island and the need to protect the environment; the white in the Canadian pale was to symbolize the purity of the people on the island and the desire to preserve the natural beauty; and the device in the centre was to symbolize four hearts in harmony, representing the four population groups on the island: aborigines, Hakka, Hoklo, and mainlanders.

Some Chinese nationalists criticized the design as being reminiscent of the Imperial Seal of Japan where a chrysanthemum is present and therefore a promotion of Japanese militarism. The "hearts-in-harmony flag" has emerged as the most well known proposed flag of Taiwan, but it has not gained acceptance from the mainstream Democratic Progressive Party.

More recently, the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign raised its version of the proposed flag of Taiwan in front of the Presidential Building in front of a crowd of about 500 (mostly Taiwan Solidarity Union supporters) on September 8, 2005—a date it proclaimed "Taiwan's Independence Day" to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952 in which Japan relinquished its claim to Taiwan. [ [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/09/09/2003270951 'Independence' marked in flag-raising celebration] , "Taipei Times", September 09, 2005. Accessed January 9, 2006.] This flag, which had been featured in smaller rallies elsewhere in Taiwan, featured three horizontal stripes in blue, white, and green and a red circle in the middle along with the characters "Country of Taiwan" ( _zh. 台灣國). The flag was meant to symbolize history of Taiwan: the red circle to represent Japan, the blue to represent the KMT, and green to represent the DPP. That flag was unique in that other flag designs struck out the color blue altogether.

Prospects and consensus

While there is a vocal campaign to replace the ROC flag, and independence leaders such as Lee Teng-hui have held multiple mass rallies calling for a new flag, the prospects for replacing the flag of the Republic of China are not high given that changing the flag requires a constitutional amendment; that the current flag has a huge amount of support among pan-Blue coalition supporters and grudging acceptance among moderate independence supporters (not changing the flag of the ROC is one of the elements of the Four Noes and One Without declaration made by President Chen Shui-bian); and because changing the flag might cause political tension with the People's Republic of China.

While green has emerged as the color of Taiwan independence and can be seen ubiquitously in pro-independence rallies, no flag has achieved consensus among the various groups promoting Taiwan independence as the symbol of an independent Republic of Taiwan. Unlike some other prominent separatist movements, Taiwan does not have a historical or local flag to be used as a separatist symbol. The flag of the short-lived Republic of Formosa is unsuitable, since that republic was declared by Qing loyalists and designed as a tributary state in a failed attempt avert Japanese annexation in 1895. The local flag of Taiwan, the flag of the Republic of China, is unsuitable as it is already a symbol of Chinese nationalism and associated with Chinese reunification.

At rallies of the pan-Green coalition, green campaign banners and party flags are commonly waved and the ROC flag is rarely seen, but the various proposed flags are never seen in unison. [ [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/tw-polit.html Taiwan political parties] , "Flags of the World", May 28, 2005. Accessed Jan. 9, 2006.] A dilemma arose when Lee Teng-hui was scheduled to speak at the National Press Club in Washington, DC in 2005: while National Press Club convention would have called the ROC flag to be flown to reflect the nationality of the speaker, pro-independence groups objected to using the flag of the Republic of China while the National Press Club's only other alternative, a Democratic Progressive Party flag, was considered unsuitable as Lee was not a DPP member. [ [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/08/31/2003269809 Lee scheduled for press club speech in US] , "Taipei Times", Aug 31, 2005. Accessed Jan. 9, 2006.]

In popular culture

The hearts-in-harmony flag was a prominent part of the plot in the episode "A Change Is Gonna Come" of the TV series "The West Wing". [ [http://westwing.bewarne.com/sixth/607change.html West Wing unofficial continuity guide: #607 "A Change Is Gonna Come"] ]

Notes and references

ee also

*"Taiwan the Formosa", a proposed national anthem for Taiwan
*Flag of the Republic of China