New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, who is on an eight-day trip in the US, on Friday said that he would not take Washington’s support of Taiwan for granted.
Speaking to reporters in New York while visiting two US think tanks — the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) — Hou said he would not take US support of Taiwan for granted and that Taipei would continue to boost its national defense capabilities to deter Beijing’s aggression.
Hou, who arrived in New York on Thursday, said that Taiwan needed to increase its military strength not only to ensure cross-strait stability and Taiwan’s security, but also to mitigate concerns held by the rest of the world regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: CNA
Hou said that Taiwan should maintain a dialogue with China to lower the risk of conflict and increase mutual understanding, but added that Taipei did not hold unrealistic expectations of Beijing.
In a statement released by Hou’s campaign office after he attended a forum held by the NCAFP, he said Taiwan was one of the most important Indo-Pacific countries and that it would do its bit to maintain peace in the region.
“Taiwan will not be a trouble-maker, but instead will play a role in facilitating peace and reducing risks in the region,” Hou said, adding that his goal was to “maintain cross-strait stability, ensure Taiwan’s security and allow the world to rest assured.”
Photo courtesy of Hou You-yi’s office
The NCAFP forum was also attended by former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Russel, former US acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Susan Thornton, who is the project director of the Forum on Asia-Pacific Security at the NCAFP, and former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Raymond Burghardt, as well as other Asia-Pacific affairs specialists.
Hou’s office said that when the KMT presidential nominee visited the CFR, he also emphasized both sides of the Taiwan Strait should maintain dialogue and increase their interactions to lower the risk of military conflict, and pave the way toward prosperity and stability in the region and the world.
During his stay in New York, Hou also met with a group of overseas Taiwanese and told them he was determined to protect the Republic of China (ROC) and pass on Chinese culture to future generations.
Hou said next year’s presidential election would decide whether Taiwan will go to war or enjoy peace, adding that “as long as we keep the ROC, we will be able to keep the peace, and our future generations will be able to stand firm,” implying that the stance of the Democratic Progressive Party is provocative.
After his trip to New York, Hou is to visit Washington from tomorrow to Tuesday to meet with AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger as well as academics from the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation, and US lawmakers.
The trip to the US has been described by Hou’s office as a “journey of dialogue and deepening friendship.”
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS