Peace is the only way to protect stability and prosperity in Taiwan, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday.
Hou, widely tipped as a potential Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate, made the comment in Singapore on the last day of his visit to the city-state.
Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) on Friday confirmed his meeting earlier in the day with Hou.
Photo: Screen grab from Hou You-yi’s Facebook page
“Had a good chat with New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih,” Wong wrote on Facebook, calling Hou “an old friend.”
Hou declined to answer questions about whether meeting Wong changed his views on the so-called “1992 consensus,” but he emphasized that peace is crucial for Taiwan’s future.
The “1992 consensus” is a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, and refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The nation’s internal policy should be confident, expand the country’s capabilities, utilize advantages and increase adaptability, Hou said, adding that international exchanges must be developed.
Taiwan should direct diplomatic efforts toward securing more international space for the nation’s development and to show the world the friendliness of Taiwanese, he said.
Avoiding the risks of war and maintaining peace are of key importance to Taiwan, Hou said, adding that the world is hoping a peaceful course of action would be adopted.
Friendly relations with China must be built on the foundation of equality, dignity, friendliness and pragmatism, but peace is the only option for national development and domestic tranquility, he said.
When asked whether he would run for president if asked by the KMT, Hou said he is not afraid of any challenge and would do anything that needs to be done for the peace and prosperity of Taiwan, without elaborating.
Hou faces competition from the campaign of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), who, despite not being a member of the KMT, has said he seeks the party’s nomination.
Gou officially announced his plan to seek the KMT nomination for next year’s presidential election on April 5 upon his return to Taiwan from a 10-day visit to the US.
He then embarked on a visit to Japan on April 11.
Gou on Tuesday asked the public to give him 30 days to present his campaign platform.
Gou presided over Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) forum yesterday, which attracted a crowd of young technology industry workers.
A KMT insider said on condition of anonymity that popular support for Gou’s presidential bid is likely to rise, as the billionaire has demonstrated serious intent through recent public appearances and his visits to the US and Japan.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
A woman who allegedly spiked the food and drinks of an Australian man with rat poison, leaving him in intensive care, has been charged with attempted murder, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The woman, identified by her surname Yang (楊), is accused of repeatedly poisoning Alex Shorey over the course of several months last year to prevent the Australian man from leaving Taiwan, prosecutors said in a statement. Shorey was evacuated back to Australia on May 3 last year after being admitted to intensive care in Taiwan. According to prosecutors, Yang put bromadiolone, a rodenticide that prevents blood from
China is likely to focus on its economy over the next four years and not set a timetable for attempting to annex Taiwan, a researcher at Beijing’s Tsinghua University wrote in an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine on Friday. In the article titled “Why China isn’t scared of Trump: US-Chinese tensions may rise, but his isolationism will help Beijing,” Chinese international studies researcher Yan Xuetong (閻學通) wrote that the US and China are unlikely to go to war over Taiwan in the next four years under US president-elect Donald Trump. While economic and military tensions between the US and China would