Next year’s presidential election is a choice between peace or war, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said yesterday.
“The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) cross-strait policy these past few years has been one of confrontation, not dialogue, one of preparing for war and not avoiding war,” KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said, adding that the policy has brought cross-strait relations to the brink of war.
Lai said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has spoken of maintaining regional stability, while Vice President William Lai (賴清德) has said that he would not let war happen.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“However, how are people to believe promises made by politicos from a party that likes to lie and plagiarize theses?” he said, alluding to allegations of academic plagiarism involving several DPP politicians leading up to last year’s local elections.
“Removing the DPP from power is the mainstream opinion, the hope of not having a war is also the goal of the whole Taiwan,” he added.
For security’s sake, Taiwan needs to prepare for combat, while avoiding war from happening, Lai Shyh-bao said.
“However, what the Tsai administration has been doing now is 100 percent preparing for war,” he said.
“More exchanges are needed to avoid war, but as soon as [we] engage in cross-strait exchanges, the Tsai government would paint you [the opposition] with a pro-China brush,” he added.
KMT Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) said that the greatest common denominator is pursuing peace and avoiding war.
“However, that cannot be achieved with slogans only. Concrete actions are needed,” he said. “Yet what we see the direction of the Tsai administration these past few years, which has only been focused on beefing up its readiness for war.”
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, said at the launch of his campaign in June that peace is the main focus of next year’s presidential election.
Concern over cross-strait peace was the reason he decided to run for president, as only when there is peace can Taiwan develop sustainably, he said at the time.
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