Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that he would strive to ensure Taiwan’s security in the face of increasing Chinese threats, shortly after registering to run in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential primary.
Lai, who is DPP chairman, completed his registration at the party’s headquarters in the company of former Pingtung County commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安).
Registration to run in the DPP’s primary is open until tomorrow.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Lai told reporters after registering that he was “extremely determined” to run for the country’s top job on the DPP ticket and urged Taiwanese to give him an opportunity to lead the country.
“We must be united to strengthen Taiwan, stick to the democratic camp and ensure Taiwan’s security” in the face of increased Chinese “saber rattling” and “unscrupulous diplomatic bullying,” Lai said.
Lai, 63, added that he would strive to bring the nation’s people together to expand the economy, safeguard democracy, bolster national defense and ensure peace in Taiwan.
His comments came hours after Honduran President Xiomara Castro said her government would begin planning for the “opening of official relations with the People’s Republic of China.”
Asked about the matter, Lai, who held a meeting with Castro in Tegucigalpa in January last year shortly after she was sworn into office, gave no response.
In addition to talking tough on China, Lai also said he would seek to bring prosperity to Taiwan by rolling out development projects, boosting the economy and fighting organized crime.
He would lead the country through challenges, including achieving its net zero emissions targets, mitigating the impact of the war in Ukraine and restructuring supply chains, he said.
From Taiwan’s opposition parties, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Party cofounder Wang Chien-shien (王建?) have announced their intention to run for president.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) has announced his intention to run, but the party has yet to decide whether it would hold a primary.
Chinese-language media have reported that New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are seeking the KMT’s nomination.
The election is scheduled for Jan. 13 next year.
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS