New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, said at a dinner party in Washington on Sunday that the US is Taiwan’s “sincerest ally and friend,” and he is looking forward to deepening bilateral ties if he is elected in January next year.
Like the US, Taiwan values freedom and democracy, and on the strength of those shared values, Taiwan has been a firm ally of the US for decades, Hou said at a gathering of about 400 Taiwanese and ethnic Chinese expatriates.
“Also, for years, the US has been Taiwan’s sincerest ally and friend,” he said at the dinner party, which was hosted by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Washington, one of the city’s biggest ethnic Chinese expat groups.
Photo: CNA
“I look forward to deepening our bilateral friendship in the years to come,” Hou told the dinner guests, who included American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chair Laura Rosenberger.
Hou, who is on an eight-day trip to the US, said that as the KMT’s presidential candidate, his main goal is to bring peace to Taiwan, which has been at risk of war with China since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2016.
“I am here in the United States to brief you all on how I, as a future leader, will guide Taiwan out of that crisis,” he said.
He reiterated his stance that cross-strait peace can only be achieved through strength and exchanges that enhance understanding.
Rosenberger said Washington and Taipei had made big strides in their bilateral relations over the past few months.
Those achievements included the signing in June of their first trade agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which “will streamline regulations and facilitate trade to pave the way for increased economic opportunities in both markets,” she said.
The two sides have also built closer cooperation in the areas of 5G, electric vehicles, sustainable energy and Internet security, she said.
On the issue of regional security, she said that Taiwan is a “crucial partner” in efforts to maintain cross-strait peace and stability.
“The United States has long been committed to enabling Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” she said. “Let me assure you that our commitment to that remains rock solid.”
The dinner was part of Hou’s agenda to promote his presidential platform during his US visit, which started on Thursday and includes meetings with US lawmakers and academics from the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation.
Hou has said that during his scheduled closed-door speech at the Brookings Institution yesterday he planned to announce the details of his “3D defense policy,” which his aides have said refers to deterrence, dialogue and de-escalating.
The policy focuses on boosting the nation’s defense capabilities, while simultaneously promoting dialogue with all parties involved, so as to significantly lower the risk of a cross-strait war, Hou said.
In Taipei, his “3D defense policy” was denounced by the DPP as lacking “defense,” to which the KMT said the DPP should not criticize those who strive for regional peace.
Meanwhile, the campaign office of Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the DPP’s presidential candidate, slammed Hou for comments he made during a visit to a burger shop owned by a Taiwanese in New York.
He said that “at 60 years of age I am still looking for a job, and I might as well come to the US and sell burgers if I am to become unemployed [not elected.]”
Hou’s remarks showed he was neglecting his role and responsibilities as the mayor of New Taipei City, Lai’s campaign team said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS