Proposed Flag of Taiwan

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 is closely associated with the Kuomintang. However, no single flag has been established as the symbol of the independence movement, and 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. The flag of the Republic of China in current use is defined in the 6th article of the Constitution of the Republic of China, and amending the Constitution requires, since the 2005 amendment, a referendum under the following conditions:

Article 12 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (2005 reform) states that:

Amendment of the Constitution shall be initiated upon the proposal of one-fourth of the total members of the Legislative Yuan, passed by at least three-fourths of the members present at a meeting attended by at least three-fourths of the total members of the Legislative Yuan, and sanctioned by electors in the free area of the Republic of China at a referendum held upon expiration of a six-month period of public announcement of the proposal, wherein the number of valid votes in favor exceeds one-half of the total number of electors. The provisions of Article 174 of the Constitution shall not apply.

Thus, a wide bipartisan support is needed to change the official flag of the Republic of China. Some supporters of Taiwan Independence seek the flag change as part of a larger change to replace the Constitution of Republic of China that was brought to Taiwan by the Kuomintang at the end of the civil war on the Mainland in 1949.