Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who is vying for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential nomination, yesterday reiterated his opposition to a Taiwanese version of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula.
Han on Saturday at a rally in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六) told supporters that “‘one country, two systems’ can never be implemented in Taiwan.”
“Taiwanese can never accept it, unless it is over my dead body,” he added, saying the phrase “over my dead body” in English.
Photo: Ge Yu-hao, Taipei Times
Han led the crowd in chanting “reject ‘one country, two systems’” and asked his supporters to have faith in him.
“If I am given the opportunity to lead the Republic of China [ROC] and become president ... I promise that ‘one country, two systems’ will never be carried out on the land of Taiwan,” Han said.
Han yesterday told reporters that his stance has not changed.
He said that in April when he was asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Chih-hung (林智鴻) about the issue at a question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council, he said: “With my hand on my heart — I support the ROC and oppose ‘one country, two systems.’”
“My position has never changed. Some people have been trying to paint me with a red brush; I do not understand what they are thinking,” he said.
Han’s opponents have accused him of being pro-China and reluctant to criticize Beijing.
In March, he visited China’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau while signing trade deals there, and politicians from the DPP and other parties accused him of supporting the “one country, two systems” framework.
“When have I ever said I would accept the ‘one country, two systems’ formula?” Han asked the crowd on Saturday. “It is impossible for Taiwanese to accept the ‘one country, two systems’ model used in Hong Kong and Macau. Absolutely impossible.”
Organizers estimated that more than 120,000 people attended the rally, while Yunlin police did not provide an estimate.
It was the third large rally to support Han’s presidential bid, following a gathering in Taipei on June 1 and another in Hualien on June 8.
Han is one of five people expected to participate in the KMT’s primary to choose a candidate for the presidential election in January next year.
The party plans to select its candidate based on the results of public opinion polls, which are to be conducted by five polling firms from July 8 to 14.
The results are to be announced on July 15.
Additional reporting by Ge Yu-hao
‘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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and