The Taiwan Solidarity Union has announced that it has officially changed its
name to the Taiwan Solidarity Party.

The statement comes after the Taipei District Court released a public notice
late last month saying that chairwoman Chou Ni-an and other members of that
party had applied to change the political party's official name.

Chou has confirmed that the party approved the name change at its congress in
December of last year, but the process was only completed recently.

According to Chou, the party's original Chinese name was a bit of a mouthful,
and that over the past 20 years, people in Taiwan have often referred to it
simply as "Taiwan Union" and the name change is aimed at ushering in a fresh
start.

Chou says the word "union" in the party's former name sometimes led people to
mistake it for a club or society, such as the Taiwan Nation Alliance or the
Union of Taiwanese Teachers, rather than a political party ..

.. and the name change is a declaration that the party continues to serve the
public under the legacy of former President Lee Teng-hui.

Lee founded the party 24 years ago.