DPP releases poll; Heavyweights lay out positions

The DPP released a very interesting poll that actually seems like it would be mostly accurate: 83% of people believe the Taiwanese have a right to define the cross-strait status quo; 69% believe Taiwan is a soverign, independent country (and a good number of independence activists do not); nearly 85% believe that any cross-strait treaties regarding Taiwan's soverignty must be approved by the people via referendum; and nearly 71% support applying to the UN using the name "Taiwan."

This is good news as it puts the DPP well within the mainstream and should kill Ma's ideas of "One China, two regions" (一中兩區) and making a deal with China for "no independence, no war" (不獨不武).

Meanwhile, Yu Shyi-kun said that if he were president, he would scrap the "Five nos" pledge and change the national name to Taiwan; Su Chen-chang said he would not run in 2008 if he is charged (presumably in connection with a special allowance fund problem) and also said that rectifying the nation's name (from ROC to Taiwan) and normalizing the country had to be done a step at a time, although he added Taiwan is already an independent country called the ROC; and Frank Hsieh has coined the phrase "Taiwan Restoration" as a campaign theme. The phrase is borrowed from the Japanese "Meiji Restoration." Hsieh envisions a further modernization of Taiwan with three main themes: trust, qualitative change (in politics, economics, education, atmosphere, and culture), and establishing Taiwan as a Pacific country.

Hsieh's Restoration plan seems to sound good but appears to be short on details so far, so I won't go into it far. It does, seem to be the most balanced and inspiring skeleton platform/set of slogans laid out by any candidate yet.

民進黨：台灣主權相關協定 85%民眾主張公投 (CNA)

（中央社記者吳素柔台北十五日電）民進黨今天公布民調表示，八成三民眾認為台海現狀應由台灣人民定義；六成九民眾認為台灣是主權獨立國家；近八成五民眾主張兩岸簽訂與台灣主權相關協定時，須由台灣人民公投決定；近七成一民眾贊成以台灣名義申請加入聯合國。