TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty while visiting Baoan Temple in Taipei on Sunday.
Shen, the DPP candidate for Taipei mayor, reiterated that “Taiwan independence means Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country, and that is the status quo,” CNA reported.
He argued that those attempting to change the reality that Taiwan is a sovereign nation or those who welcome a foreign invasion are the ones trying to change the status quo.
Shen said Taiwan has never sought to alter the status quo, and that China has been the only side attempting to do so. He added that US policy has remained consistent, saying, “The entire Indo-Pacific strategy is about deterring China from doing this,” per CNA. The legislator said he does not believe there is any change in Taiwan-US relations at present.
Shen said the US position has always been that neither China nor Taiwan should unilaterally change the status quo. This “is also the current thinking of most Taiwanese,” Shen added.
Shen is a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party and has warned that China’s threats against the global democratic community are increasing in their intensity and variety of methods.
In October, China’s Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau accused him of participating in activities that undermine national unity by establishing Kuma Academy, which it called a “separatist organization.” Shen brushed off the investigation, saying, “Taiwanese people are not afraid anyway.”
In 2024, China labeled Shen a “die-hard” Taiwan independence activist.
