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. 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.
However, there are some local 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, although it has not gained acceptance with 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. 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" (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.
Read more about this topic: Proposed Flag Of Taiwan
Famous quotes containing the words prominent and/or proposals:
“The vain man does not wish so much to be prominent as to feel himself prominent; he therefore disdains none of the expedients for self-deception and self-outwitting. It is not the opinion of others that he sets his heart on, but his opinion of their opinion.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“One theme links together these new proposals for family policy—the idea that the family is exceedingly durable. Changes in structure and function and individual roles are not to be confused with the collapse of the family. Families remain more important in the lives of children than other institutions. Family ties are stronger and more vital than many of us imagine in the perennial atmosphere of crisis surrounding the subject.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)