Peace is the main point of concern for next year’s presidential election, New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday.
Hou made the remarks at the launch of a campaign group in Taipei, adding that the concern over cross-strait peace was the reason he decided to run in the presidential election, as only when there is peace can Taiwan develop sustainably.
On Saturday, Hou said at a town hall meeting in Taichung that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has brought Taiwan to the brink of war, but that he would lead Taiwanese in pursuit of peace.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
There has been no mutual trust between Taipei and Beijing during the DPP’s nearly eight years in power, with cross-strait peace shaky, he said.
The DPP administration has recently extended mandatory military service to one year, and hosted former US officials that advocated arming ordinary Taiwanese with weapons so they could fight in the event of a war, he said.
As long as Taiwan has peace, people can devote themselves to economic development, Hou said, adding that if a war breaks out with China, that would destroy Taiwan.
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, few people believed a war would break out, he said, adding that some people believe the same thing could happen in Taiwan.
Hou, a former National Police Agency head, who rose through the ranks after solving major crimes, said he has experienced several mass shootings and knows how scary a war would be.
While Taiwan needs to raise its self-defense capabilities, it also needs to pursue peace and reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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