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The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) ( Traditional Chinese: 台灣團結聯盟, pinyin: Táiwān túanjíe líanméng) is a political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence. It was officially founded on July 24, 2001 and is considered part of the Pan-Green Coalition. The party prided itself on being the first to include "Taiwan" in its name.In the summer of 2001, supporters of former ROC president Lee Teng-hui formed the Taiwan Solidarity Union. In the 2000 presidential elections, the KMT suffered a devastating defeat, in which internal turmoil had caused the party to lose its grip on power. This was blamed on Lee, the KMT Chairman at the time, and he was forced to resign in March 2001. The hardliners in the KMT and recently expelled supporters of James Soong believed Lee secretly harbored support for Taiwan independence and had purposely sabotaged the KMT (by not allowing Soong to run under the KMT) in order to allow Chen Shui-bian to win. Meanwhile, the new President Chen moderated his pro-independence position in the election, alienating some hardline independence supporters in his Democratic Progressive Party. By July, just months before the December 2001 elections to the Legislative YuanThe Legislative Yuan ( Chinese: pinyin: Lif Yuan, literally "law-establishing court") is the legislative body of the Republic of China, which currently administers Taiwan, Penghu, Quemoy, and Matsu Islands. Position in the government The Legislative Yuan, these factors accumulated to result in the formation of the TSU to continue Lee's policies, and fill in the DPP's abandoned position of an extremist hardline political force. It was hoped that this would lead to a pan-green majority in the nation's primary legislative body, thus giving the executive branch, under Chen, the political backing necessary to pursue more radical policies, primarily in the areas of Taiwanese independence.
The TSU's stated political aim was the advocation of a "Taiwan-First" policy and Lee's Two States Theory , which had received an 80% support domestically despite causing an outrage in Beijing when announced in 1999. Lee was, naturally, identified as the "spiritual leader" (though he personally never joined the party); the TSU hoped that Lee's popularity would help the TSU make the 5% support mark. Further, Lee's dominance in the party was revealed when the candidates TSU nominated had all been personally approved by Lee beforehand. Meanwhile, as Lee's actions increasingly departed from the KMT's unificationistChinese reunification is a goal of Chinese nationalism which is the unification of all of China under a single political entity. As Hong Kong and Macau have been reunited with mainland China under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, the onl-friendly positions, he was eventually expelled from the Kuomintang. Although there was some initial speculation that Lee's expulsion would cause mass defections in the Kuomintang, none of the major Kuomintang leaders and Lee's close associates changed sides. Nonetheless, native members of the KMT was still to be the fundamental building blocks of the new party. Half of the TSU candidates had came directly from the KMT.
After winning nine seats in the 225-member Legislative Yuan in December 2001, the TSU has largely displaced the Taiwan Independence PartyThe Taiwan Independence Party (, in pinyin: jian guo da3ng, literal meaning: "Nation-establishing Party") (TAIP) is a political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan. It is usually associated with the pan-green coalition and supports Taiwan independenc (TAIP) and TSU legislators began advocating resolutions consistent with its strongly pro- Taiwan independence stance. For instance, they have opened debate about changing the national flagThe National Flag of the Republic of China ( Chinese: ) is a well-known symbol of the Republic of China (ROC), which since 1949 has been based on Taiwan. It is commonly referred to in Chinese as Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth ( in pinyin: qin and national anthemSan Min Chu-i ( in pinyin: Sn Min Zhyi), translated Three Principles of the People , is the national anthem of the Republic of China on Taiwan. It uses doctrine of the Three Principles of the People to explain how the vision and hopes of a new nation and. In the December 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom city elections in TaipeiAlternative meaning: Taipei County Taipei City City flag City logo City nickname: the City of Azaleas Capital District Xinyi Area Total % water Ranked 16 of 25 271. 0% Population Total ( May, 2004) Density Ranked 2 of 25 2,625,512 9,660/km² Districts:12 M and Kaohsiung, during which it fielded no candidates, the TSU suffered a defeat, winning no seats in the Taipei City council and won only two seats in the Kaohsiung City council.
Domestically, the TSU is a progressive centrist party characterized primarily by its Taiwanese nationalism and derives its membership from both the Nationalist Party's former moderate and Taiwan-oriented fringe and Democratic Progressive Party supporters disgruntled by the party's moderation on the question of Taiwanese sovereignty. Its liberal character is questionable, although it its part of the DPP's left-of-centre and Taiwan-oriented Pan-Green alliance. It positions itself as a centrist alternative to the DPP.
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