Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Tuesday said that he is “both Taiwanese and Chinese” at a meeting with former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱).
The KMT is the Republic of China’s (ROC) founding party, Chiang said, adding that for the KMT, China is the ROC.
“I was born and raised in Taiwan. I am Taiwanese,” he said. “From the perspective of blood origin, culture and history, I am also Chinese.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“On the basis of the Constitution of the ROC, I am an ROC national,” he added.
Chiang and Hung reached a consensus during their discussion that the ROC Constitution is the basis for the nation’s standing in cross-strait relations, and that it should be a bipartisan consensus, Hung’s office said.
If that is to be changed, the Constitution would have to be amended, the office said, adding that political parties and politicians have a duty to explain the consequences and costs of amending the Constitution.
Like Hung, Chiang was elected after the KMT’s defeat in a presidential election, the office said, adding that the two understand the hardships that come with the position.
They understand that the party cannot appeal to young people just by recruiting a few of them, it said.
The two believe that young people have a negative opinion of the KMT mainly because of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) labeling of it, the office said.
While the influence of ideology is not the main reason young people dislike the KMT, the distortion of historical facts by school curriculum guidelines cannot be ignored, it said.
The ROC Constitution is a “one China” Constitution, Hung said.
The national direction set by the Constitution is ultimate unification, she said.
“These directions are challenges the chairperson of the founding party must face,” she said.
The ROC’s intrinsic territory is clearly stated in the Constitution, Chiang said, adding that as long as it has not been changed with constitutional amendments, it should be followed.
The ROC and the democratic system people cherish should be defended as preconditions for cross-strait peace and acceptance by the public, Chiang said.
In terms of identity, Chiang said he believes that the zhonghua (中華) — a term generally accepted to be approximate to “Chinese” — cultural heritage that was originally integrated into life and culture has been politicized, causing some things that did not need to be doubted to become problems stalling the nation.
Hung and Chiang have a high level of consensus in terms of their views of the importance of the KMT in the nation’s development and maintaining of the “status quo” and facing historical facts, Hung’s office said.
They hope that under the leadership of Chiang, the KMT can become a party that gives people hope and develops the nation, it added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS