With the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) scheduled to hold its chairperson by-election tomorrow, party hard-liners expressed concern over select candidates’ call to adjust the party’s cross-strait policy following its massive defeat in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who represents the party’s younger generation, are deliberately avoiding or obfuscating the issue about cross-strait relations, former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said in a press release yesterday.
The party’s core values — to uphold the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and embrace the spirit of the Three Principles of the People (三民主義 ) — must not change, she said.
Hung said that her addition of the clause — “Based on the ROC Constitution and furthering the ‘1992 consensus,’ [the KMT is] to actively explore the possibility of terminating hostile relations across the Taiwan Strait by signing a peace accord” — in 2016, when she was chairwoman, is what people across the Strait need.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) urged party members not to vote in the by-election, saying that Hau’s and Chiang’s comments on cross-strait relations seem to favor severing ties with China.
The core of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) cross-strait policy is separation from China, which increases the risk of conflict and possibly a resumption of war, Chang said.
The KMT should stress that it is different from the DPP and that its cross-strait policy could bring about a peaceful resolution, he said.
Hau and Chiang are echoing the DPP’s statements and, in so doing, causing the KMT — and Taiwan — to lose whatever advantage it has in cross-strait relations, he said.
Hau said that his core values of defending the ROC and staunchly resisting Taiwanese independence are very clear, adding that they are the KMT’s core values, too.
He pledged that if elected, he would handle cross-strait issues according to such ideals.
Chiang said that telling members not to vote is stifling democracy within the party and preventing changes that the party needs, which in the end would hurt the party more than the candidates.
He urged members to turn out to vote and help the party embrace change.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by