Taiwan Presidential Candidate Tsai Ing-wen Hints at Possible Independence

The front-runner in Taiwan's presidential race said Sunday that she would seek stable relations with mainland China, but did not rule out revisiting the island's official stance on independence, leaving open questions about how China would respond to her probable victory in next month's elections.

Tsai Ing-wen, the opposition leader who has firmly held onto a sizeable lead in polls, used her platform during the first debate to warn against the political rapprochement and deepening economic ties with the mainland brought by the ruling Nationalist Party, or KMT, since the 2008 elections.

"We cannot simply be bound to China," Tsai said. "That's what worries us most about the past eight years — the sense that that's the only choice we have. That's not good for our economy or our security."

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Leftists Blocked Independence Seeking Party From Forming Government in Catalonia

Efforts by the acting president of Spain's powerful northeastern Catalonia region to form a pro-independence regional government have been dealt another blow as the radical pro-secession CUP party reaffirmed its opposition to his candidacy.

Artur Mas heads the "Together for Yes" alliance that won 62 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament in September elections but, lacking a majority, he is seeking support from CUP, which has 10 seats.

CUP has voted against him twice and on Sunday its members decided to maintain the stance. They agreed to continue talks with Mas' alliance but called on it to present another candidate.

However, CUP leader Antonio Banos said Monday the party members' decision was not binding and that all options were still open.

The Catalan parliament has until Jan. 10 to form a government or call a new election. The pro-independence parties fear the independence drive would lose momentum if fresh regional elections were held.

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Catalonian Separatists win Majority in Election, but Lack Unequivocal Secession Mandate

Parties pushing for independence from Spain won a majority of seats in Catalonia's regional Parliament in a ballot Sunday, but failed to secure more than 50 percent of the popular vote in an election they had hoped would give them a clear, unequivocal mandate for secession.

With 90 percent of the votes counted, the "Together for Yes" group of secessionist parties had 63 seats in the 135-member parliament, meaning they would need to join forces with the radical Popular Unity Candidacy party — that secured 10 seats — to be able to push regional legislation through.

However, together they only won 47.6 percent of the popular vote, meaning opponents to independence were in a majority.

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More Threats From Scotland to Seek Independence

Scotland's First Minister on Friday warned that a united Britain was "on borrowed time" unless Prime Minister David Cameron devolved more powers to Edinburgh, on the first anniversary of a historic independence referendum.

Scottish voters decided to stay part of the United Kingdom by 55 percent to 45 percent on September 18 last year, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told supporters that she would favour another referendum if polls showed renewed public demand.

"Only the people can decide if we will have another referendum," the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said in the anniversary address.

"Only the people can decide when that will be. And only the people can decide if Scotland will become independent."

Recent polls have shown an increased support for independence.

"Right now, what people see at Westminster is a Tory government failing to fully deliver on the vow it made on more powers for our parliament," she said in the speech in a conference hall in Edinburgh.

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New Scottish Independence Vote on its way...AGAIN

Scottish nationalists will propose holding a new referendum on independence from the rest of Britain, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Sunday.

Sturgeon said her pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) would set out a timescale for a referendum in its manifesto ahead of regional elections next year.

"Our manifesto will set out what we consider are the circumstances and the timescale on which a second referendum might be appropriate," Sturgeon told the Press Association news agency.

The manifesto is due to be unveiled at the SNP's annual conference next month.

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I guess that was NOT settled for a generation.

Salmond Says Second Scottish Independence Referendum Inevitable

Former Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond said Sunday that another referendum on independence from the United Kingdom was "inevitable" because of policies pursued by Prime Minister David Cameron's government in London.

"I think a second independence referendum is inevitable," Salmond told the BBC, although he would not say when.

Salmond resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and first minister of the devolved government in Edinburgh after Scots voted "no" to independence by 55 to 45 percent in September.

But nationalist feeling has soared in Scotland since then, and in May's general election the SNP won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, making them the third largest party after the main opposition Labour party.

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Spain Planning on Stopping Catalonian Indepedence bid

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he's ready to halt any secession attempt for the northeastern Catalonia region if regional elections in September generate a majority of independence-minded lawmakers trying to push the issue forward.

Rajoy made the comments Tuesday as several Catalan parties prepare their lists of pro-secession candidates for the Sept. 27 election for the Catalan regional parliament.

The region's Convergence and the Republican Left parties see the election as a vote on independence and say they will unilaterally push for Catalonia to leave Spain if they obtain a majority of seats in the regional parliament.

Rajoy has said an independence declaration by Catalonia would be unconstitutional.

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Happy 4th of July!

Celebrate our independence, but let us also strive to form a more perfect union.

For ourselves.

For our neighbors.

For the children.

For our world.

Greenland Independence Hopes Dashed by Oil Price Crash?

Less than half a decade ago, Greenlanders were imagining the riches that would follow an oil bonanza as the price of crude approached $150 a barrel. That wealth was supposed to buy the island independence from Denmark.

Today, with oil trading at less than $75, well below levels that would make exploration off the world’s largest island profitable, Greenlanders are casting their votes for a new home-rule government after the previous administration collapsed amid an expenses scandal.

“People in Greenland always ponder how to achieve economic independence from Denmark,” Ulrik Pram Gad, a post doctoral political scientist at the University of Copenhagen, said in an interview. “People are just realizing that things will take longer; nobody knows how to fund the economy without oil and mining.”

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hat tip to Randy.

Scotland Will Seek new Independence Referendum if Britain Fails to Keep Devo Max Promise

Scotland may seek another independence vote if Britain's rulers fail to honor their pledge to grant it further autonomy, outgoing Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond warned on Friday, less than two months after Scots spurned independence.

Salmond, in his final speech as party leader, told members that Scotland would eventually secure his dream of independence from London. He also delivered a warning to British Prime Minister David Cameron:

"Let the message be very clear from this hall and from this country ... Prime Minister - delay, prevaricate, block or obstruct the implementation of what Scotland was promised, and Scotland will take matters into our own, democratic, hands."

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The Economist on Catalona's Independence Setbacks and a Response

CATALONIA’S referendum on independence, planned for November 9th, will not now happen. Or might it, after all? On October 14th the Catalan president, Artur Mas, admitted that, with the referendum officially suspended by Spain’s constitutional court, it would have to be scrapped. But, he added, some other sort of public consultation will still happen on that day—and it will involve ballot boxes.

Mr Mas refused to provide details. He claimed that he did not want to give the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, too many clues about his plans. Given the legal obstacles, even Mr Mas may not be sure how to proceed. Catalonia’s more radical and leftist separatists were angered by his decision to obey the court while calling for a watered-down, pseudo-referendum. They want an early election in this rich and populous region of north-east Spain. Mr Mas is trying to deflect the separatists’ claims of cowardice by ramping up the war of words. “The Spanish state is the adversary,” he declared.

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To The Editors Of The Economist

I am writing this missive addressed to you as I am outraged, nay scandalized, by the level of your reporting on the Catalan question. The source of my discontent are two recent pieces – both signed by one GT – the first of which appeared on the Charlemagne Blog (Getting to “sí”, 19 September 2014), while the second was published under the rubric The Economist Explains (Catalonia’s independence movement,14 October 2014.)

Of the two, I consider the second much more reproachable since it purports to be an informative document, and not a mere opinion piece. My issue with your journalist is not his opinion – to which any journalist is entitled – but that he attempts to pass off opinion as fact. My view is the that the level of journalism being demonstrated is not what you should be seeking in a publication with your high level of international prestige.

At the end of the day, of course, whether this is the case or not is an editorial decision on your part. I fully understand why the Economist originally took the decision to publish non-editorial unsigned articles, but in the modern age I think this be a double edged sword as it leads to confusion about what is an Op-ed and what isn’t. Personally I think the practice is now more trouble than it’s worth, but again that’s for you to decide.

In order to try and demonstrate my case I have gone to the rather tedious lengths of re-reading the two offending articles and identifying what I consider to be factual inaccuracies (see below).

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EU Can't Deal With Disintegrating Members

THE demonstrations that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall came out of nowhere, says Günther Dauwen, and had consequences nobody could foresee. Observing the proceedings in Scotland last week, he wondered if something similar might be brewing. From a quiet fourth-floor office in Brussels Mr Dauwen runs the European Free Alliance (EFA), a rum assortment of 40 regional political groups, including the Scottish National Party (SNP), that seek greater autonomy, or, in some cases, independence, from existing countries. From the plains of Silesia to the beaches of Corsica, reckons Mr Dauwen, there is a growing clamour for power among Europe’s long-neglected regions. Scotland is a “beacon” for such places; that its independence referendum was achieved at all encouraged others to think “Yes, we can!”, even though the outcome was negative. In the run-up to the vote the EFA’s website nearly crashed under the weight of traffic.

Watching the streets of Edinburgh filling up with Saltire-waving Catalans, Flemings and South Tyroleans (not to mention Québécois, Kurds and Taiwanese) last week, a visitor might have been forgiven for assuming that something was stirring in Europe. Some commentators fretted about the prospect of “balkanisation” across the continent. Yet although parts of Europe may one day drift towards dissolution, and Catalonia is trying to hold a vote on its future, the Scottish effect was overdone. Pro-independence campaigners in Flanders or the Veneto will have taken heart from the Scottish campaign, but given the different constitutional arrangements of Belgium and Italy they will struggle to draw useful lessons from it. And it will take a lot more to rouse the good burghers of Bavaria or Frisia from their slumbers.

Outside Britain, the biggest impact of a Scottish vote for secession would have been felt within the European Union. Ever since it adopted “Independence in Europe!” as a slogan in 1988, EU membership has been central to the SNP’s proposition. For small nations, the prospect of staying in a giant trading block with its own foreign policy and currency makes the idea of statehood less daunting. In contrast to what is perceived as an oppressive multinational state, it may offer space for identities to flourish. Asked in 2007 if his country wanted to establish a “Greater Albania”, an Albanian official referred to the EU symbol: “Yes we do. It has a blue flag and gold stars on it.”

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Oh the Irony! Kaliningrad Seperatism now a Foreign Policy Issue

Statements by Lithuanian and Polish commentators about Kaliningrad and actions by the Russian authorities against activists in that non-contiguous Russian Federation exclave suggest that the issue of separatism there is an increasingly lively one even if the prospects for any change in its status are not great.

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Hat tip Randy.

Despite Independence's Defeat in Scotland, Catalonia is Undetered

Despite Scotland's decision to reject independence, lawmakers in Spain's Catalonia region voted overwhelmingly Friday to give their leader the power to call a secession referendum that the central government in Madrid has denounced as illegal.

The prospect of an independent Scotland had captivated European separatists. Besides the Catalans, their ranks include pro-independence Basques in northern Spain; Corsicans who want to break away from France; Italians from several northern regions; and Flemish speakers in Belgium demanding more autonomy, independence or union with the Netherlands.

Catalonia's regional president, Artur Mas, supported a Yes vote in Scotland, but stressed Catalans simply wanted the same chance as the Scots. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said he will block a planned Nov. 9 vote in the wealthy northeastern region of 7.5 million people.

"What happened in Scotland and the United Kingdom is not a setback for us because what we really want in Catalonia is to have the chance to vote, the same possibility," Mas said.

Later Friday, the Catalan parliament voted 106-28 to give him the power to call a referendum. Mas didn't say when he would sign the decree to set the vote date.

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Obviously the Song for Scotland's Vote Tonight is...

Scotland: The Results are...?

Barring a radical change, I'd say the UK survives intact: right now its about 55/45.  Edinburgh and Glasgow have not reported in though.  From the sounds of things, some SNP strongholds - or supposedly strongholds - voted to stay.  This may be as big a setback from Scottish Independence as 1995 was for Quebec.

Best quote I saw for tonight:

"Not so fast--according to Karl Rove there are still a few precincts in Glasgow yet to report."

In Honor of the Scottish Independence Referendum, a theme song

I'm guessing the polls ought to be opening about this time.   Good luck and make the right choice.

Little Scotlander Chief: This is the Only Referendum on Independence for a Generation

Alex Salmond has said the independence vote is a "once in a generation" opportunity as he pledged not to quickly bring back another referendum if Scots choose to remain in the UK.

Commentators have been predicting a "neverendum" if the No campaign wins on Thursday by a narrow margin, with nationalists calling for a new independence poll within a few years.

As a series of polls indicate the vote remains too close to call, Mr Salmond was asked if he could pledge not to bring back another referendum if the Yes campaign does not win on Thursday, he said: "That's my view. My view is this is a once in a generation, perhaps even a once in a lifetime, opportunity for Scotland."

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Catalonia Threatens "Practically Impossible" to Stop Independence Referendum

Catalonia's president warned Wednesday it was "practically impossible" to stop the region voting on secession from Spain and looked to Scotland to smooth the way with its own independence referendum.

Artur Mas, who has defied Madrid by calling a vote on independence for the rich northeastern region on November 9, predicted Scotland would stay in the European Union even if it chooses independence and drew hope from that for his own cause.

"If the Catalan population wants to vote on its future, it's practically impossible to stop that forever," Mas told AFP in an interview on the eve of Catalonia's annual national day, the Diada.

The commemoration this year is more politically charged than ever, coming just a week before Scotland holds a referendum on independence from the rest of Britain, and less than two months before the date set for the Catalan vote.

Spain's national government fiercely opposes any move towards independence for Catalonia. It has branded the planned vote illegal and vowed to block it.

"I think it's absurd to pretend that could be so and I think the Spanish government will have to realise that," Mas said.

In contrast to Madrid's stance on Catalonia, the British government has agreed to let Scots vote in a referendum even though it is against Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom.

Mas said Scotland's vote could smooth the way for Catalonia on its own drive for independence.

"If a nation such as Scotland can vote, why not Catalonia?" Mas said.

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Royal Bank of Scotland, Other Banks to Relocate to London if Little Scotlanders Win

Scotland's leading banks warned Thursday that they would move their headquarters to England if Scots vote to leave the United Kingdom, intensifying doubts about the territory's economic future and dealing a blow to the Scottish independence campaign just days ahead of a historic referendum.

Although the banks say the contingency plans are legal procedures that would have a minimal effect on their operations and jobs in Scotland, the warnings renewed concerns about an independent Scotland's ability to retain businesses — particularly during the long months of financial uncertainty that would follow a vote to break the 307-year union with England.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been based there since 1727, said it drew up the plans because of uncertainties that could hurt its business and customers if the Sept. 18 vote leads to independence. Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, said it also had plans to set up new "legal entities" in England if the independence campaign succeeds.

The vote "could have a bearing on the bank's credit ratings and the fiscal, monetary, legal and regulatory landscape to which it is subject," RBS said in a statement.

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