New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate currently trailing in the polls, earned himself a new nickname after an event at the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch in Kaohsiung on Saturday last week.
Hou was seated next to former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the party’s 2020 presidential candidate, as a show of unity to bolster Hou’s flagging campaign. Several commentators focused on how Han apparently used any opportunity to move his chair away from Hou, only for Hou to pull it closer when Han stood up to go to the podium. Hou’s name is homophonous with the phrase “Hou moved [it]” (侯有移) in Chinese; hence the new nickname.
The name is born of a frivolous observation, and yet it is remarkably appropriate given how Hou has moved his position in the past few days on significant policy positions: his views on nuclear power plants and national defense in particular.
As New Taipei City deputy mayor, Hou had called for the scheduled decommissioning of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Shihmen District (石門) and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Wanli District (萬里) before 2018. As mayor, he voted against the party line, opposing restarting construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮) in the December 2021 referendums.
His position then was at least consistent. He was concerned about the safety of the aging plants and the lack of safe storage for spent nuclear fuel rods. His willingness to vote against the party line was admirable, and contributed to his image of being willing to do the right thing irrespective of partisan loyalties.
Hou’s about-face comes just as the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded it is safe for Japan to release treated wastewater originally contaminated by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant meltdown more than 12 years ago, a reminder of the dangers of nuclear power plants in earthquake zones.
Hou’s comments that he would revert to a four-month mandatory military service, reversing the government’s decision to extend it to a full year, are also concerning, because of the implications for Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, as well as the message such a decision would send to allies mulling whether they would come to Taiwan’s aid should the Chinese Communist Party order an invasion.
What could have changed Hou’s mind? His low opinion poll ratings and the need for support within party ranks, with pressure to conform more closely to traditional KMT policy positions, might go some way to explaining it.
The KMT, aware that Hou is losing the race, just ratcheted up its support. A meeting with Han was arranged, despite the clearly frosty dynamic between the two men. Yesterday, former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) reiterated his backing.
Most significant, perhaps, was former KMT secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) joining Hou’s campaign team. King was former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) right-hand man. After King joined the campaign, Hou suddenly moved closer to policy positions remarkably similar to those of the Ma administration.
Hou’s concerns for a stable energy mix are legitimate, but why fall back to aging, semi-dismantled or mothballed old technology? Other countries, including the US, the UK, China and Russia, are moving to next-generation small modular-reactor technology that would be safer and far more appropriate for Taiwan’s earthquake-prone environment. Would it hurt the KMT to have vision rather than fall back on Ma’s old positions? And why revert to the four-month military service and lack of preparedness?
Voters have already given their verdict on Ma’s failed policies. Hou should move on.
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump’s second administration has gotten off to a fast start with a blizzard of initiatives focused on domestic commitments made during his campaign. His tariff-based approach to re-ordering global trade in a manner more favorable to the United States appears to be in its infancy, but the significant scale and scope are undeniable. That said, while China looms largest on the list of national security challenges, to date we have heard little from the administration, bar the 10 percent tariffs directed at China, on specific priorities vis-a-vis China. The Congressional hearings for President Trump’s cabinet have, so far,
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS