The top priority for Taiwan’s leader is avoiding war with China at a time of escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait, said New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate.
In a speech on Thursday delivered at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham), Hou said Taiwan must avoid war with China, and that only when it is safe and stable, can in attract investors around the world to pour resources into the country.
Hou said that if elected, he would maintain his long-held principles of safeguarding the country and bringing peace to the Taiwan Strait, and security and prosperity to Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan has to take proactive and pragmatic moves to strengthen its self-defense capabilities to avoid the threat of war, he said.
At the same time, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should have dialogue and conduct exchanges to reduce conflicts with equality, dignity and friendship, he said.
Under his proposed “3Ds strategy” of deterrence, dialogue and de-escalation, Taiwan would be able to facilitate peace and reduce risks, while continuing to cement ties with Washington and to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region, Hou said.
Industries in Taiwan are facing a tremendous challenge on energy and electricity, and he advocated an orderly transition to renewable energy to secure energy supplies, he said.
Hou said that he would carefully inspect and repair Taiwan’s three completed nuclear power plants, two of which have already been shut down for decommissioning, and establish a safety review committee to re-examine the decision to discontinue construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Taiwan would also continue to pursue green energy development, while raising energy use efficiency by investing in energy conservation, storage, and smart electricity grid networks.
He would also push the development of hydrogen power and small power plants in a bid to allow Taiwan to achieve net zero emissions.
In other news, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday said if elected, he would extend compulsory education to include kindergarten, and high school or vocational education, in addition to the existing six years of elementary school and three years of junior-high school education.
To promote bilingual education, Ko proposed training bilingual teachers through various channels, including government-funded programs.
Free bilingual textbooks would also be available for grades 1 to 9, which would help bridge the resource gap between urban and rural areas, he added.
Ko also said that there is need for legislation to standardize the pricing of school lunches and address disparities in subsidy funding across counties and cities in Taiwan.
On Sept. 12, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, said that if elected, he would implement tuition exemptions for senior-high schools and vocational schools.
In addition to providing a fixed annual subsidy of NT$35,000 for tuition and miscellaneous fees to private college students, economically disadvantaged students attending public colleges and universities can receive exemptions of up to NT$20,000 or NT$55,000 if they are enrolled in private colleges, Lai 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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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