Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) yesterday announced that he would seek the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination to run for president in 2020, saying that he would engage in talks with Beijing and explore the possibility of unification if elected.
Chang, a National Taiwan University political science professor and former diplomat, is the second KMT member to express his intention to vie for the presidential nomination after former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫).
By joining the primary race, he hopes to “reset the Republic of China and the KMT” as the nation faces a series of political, economic and identity crises at home and abroad, he told a news conference at the KMT-affiliated school in Taipei.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The KMT must “eliminate its feudal culture and tendency to ignore rules” and “reform itself into a party with ideals and clear rules, energetic and close to the public,” he said.
With new-found values, the party could reset the nation, beginning with the 2020 presidential election, he said.
Commenting on Chines President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) call on Wednesday last week for unification, Chang said that while Xi proposed “one country, two systems” as a framework for governance after unification, he is more concerned about putting an end to the hostility between the two sides, which would be “more practical and necessary.”
He said he would sign a peace treaty with Beijing on the premise of “one China, with each side having its own constitutional government” to ensure the peaceful development of both sides.
Following that, “it would be natural to explore the option of unification,” he said, adding that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are like “brothers of one family” and “there is nothing brothers cannot talk about or cannot compromise on.”
A peace treaty would allow the government to reduce its military spending, and focus on economic development and social security, he said.
It would also pave the way for negotiating increased participation by Taiwan in international organizations and meetings, he added.
“The KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party have both been avoiding elaborating on cross-strait relations, but the problem can only be solved by confronting it,” he said.
Once an aide of Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) when she was KMT chairwoman, Chang said that he believes Hung would support him, as they “share similar beliefs.”
“Hung played the first half and I will play the second half,” he added, referring to Hung’s short-lived bid for presidency in 2015.
Hung, who advocated a “one country, same interpretation” formula, was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate in July 2015, but replaced by Chu after three months, as a majority of party members found her support for unification controversial.
Chang’s platform also includes replacing the semi-presidential system with a parliamentary system, increasing the number of legislative seats from 113 to 200, abolishing the Transitional Justice Commission, and scrapping all curriculum guidelines for history and social studies previously issued by the government in favor of allowing schools and parents to choose their own textbooks.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS