President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she would never give up Taiwan’s sovereignty, despite China’s intimidation tactics.
Tsai, who is seeking re-election as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, made the remarks in a speech at a campaign event for DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) in Taichung.
“China has promised peaceful coexistence across the Taiwan Strait, by suggesting we go along with its ‘one country, two systems’ proposal, but this proposal is aimed at ... exterminating the Republic of China,” she said.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
“Some people urged us to go along with the ‘one country, two systems’ proposal, which they said would ensure peaceful coexistence across the Strait... They urged us to relinquish our nation’s sovereignty, saying our economy would improve, but our sovereignty is not negotiable,” she said.
“It is China that is undermining the ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s government under my leadership has not provoked or made any imprudent moves by upholding peace in the region,” she said.
Over the past few years, China has continued to use military and propaganda tactics to intimidate Taiwan, “but I did not back down,” Tsai said.
“We must continue to uphold our stance with determination,” she said.
There is no room for ambiguity, and people must not think about backing down on national sovereignty, “so Taiwanese must stick together ... to defend our nation against China’s stepped up intimidation and military tactics,” she said.
“Over the past three years, I have implemented many reforms, but we still have a lot of work to do, and I will need another four years to further improve our economy and make more progress,” she said.
Tsai also campaigned in Yunlin County and New Taipei City yesterday.
Meanwhile, her running mate, former premier William Lai (賴清德), and Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) toured major roads in Taipei and New Taipei City on campaign trucks.
They began in the morning near the Taipei Zoo entrance and made their way through electoral districts, before attending campaign rallies in the evening in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) and in Taoyuan.
“If we can win these legislative seats in Taipei and New Taipei City, then it will be a victory for Taiwan, and the DPP will have a majority in the legislature,” Lai said. “By doing so, we can safeguard Taiwan together, and defend our sovereignty and our democratic society.”
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but