Taiwan legislators in campaign to move capital

TAIPEI, Oct 17 (Reuters) A third of Taiwan's parliament has backed an initiative to move the island's capital away from Taipei to stimulate the economy elsewhere and promote independence from China, a ruling party aide said today.

About 70 of the island's 220 parliamentarians have signed a proposal by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chai Trong-rong to move the capital to a less developed city, an aide to Chai said.

The DPP backs independence from China which has considered self-ruled Taiwan a renegade province since the Nationalists fled there from the mainland after losing the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Chai is drafting a formal recommendation to move the capital from the north to a city in the centre or south with more Taiwanese who can trace their lineage on the island back several generations.

''If we want to assert that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation, the specific action should be moving the capital to the centre or the south,'' Chai said in a statement.

''At the same time in the new capital we want to create a sense of modernity and build a dignified single government building for all the central government departments now scattered around Taipei.'' China vigorously opposes separation and has vowed to attack the island if it declares formal independence.

Chai plans to work his idea into a piece of legislation and possibly a referendum, his aide said. The proposal would need 110 signatures before proceeding to a referendum.

Spokesmen for the ruling party and the main opposition Nationalist Party said they were unsure who would support the legislation.

The southern city of Tainan was Taiwan's first capital from 1663 to 1885, after which China's Qing Dynasty moved it to Taipei because of geographic and trade-related advantages.

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