The chance for war with China would be lowest if he were elected, said Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate.
Lai made the comment during an interview on an online talk show on Saturday, after host Huang Wei-han (黃暐瀚) asked Lai to respond to statements by rival candidates about the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait.
Asked whether he was worried that such statements would affect the outcome of the election, Lai did not answer the question directly, but said that he was the candidate best suited to prevent the outbreak of war and protect Taiwan’s national security.
Photo: Tsai Cheng-min, Taipei Times
“National security and cross-strait peace do not depend on China’s goodwill, surrendering to China, accepting the [so-called] ‘1992 consensus’ nor giving up sovereignty,” he said. “We must rely on our strength, stand together with the democratic community and jointly deter threats.”
Lai said that, if elected, he would be willing to communicate and cooperate with China, as long as reciprocity and dignity were maintained.
He would also be committed to maintaining security across the Taiwan Strait and peace in the Indo-Pacific, which would be his “most important mission” as president, he said.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
In response, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday said that Lai’s statements in the interview related to cross-strait peace were inconsistent with his “Taiwan independence” mindset.
“The DPP has been in power for many years without engaging China in dialogue or communication, and has resorted to provocation at every turn,” he said. “Now Lai wants to talk about cross-strait peace. Lai, either please stop lying or just stand up and say you oppose Taiwan’s independence,” Hou said.
Hou referred to himself as “very pragmatic” and “very good at communicating with people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” which would allow him to “create opportunities for peace.”
Photo: Ge Yu-hao, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, doubts have been cast about a rumored alliance between the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) aimed at consolidating votes, after a proposal by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) described as a “Japanese model,” under which equal weight would be given to the results of a public survey and a cross-party poll of opposition legislative candidates, was dismissed by TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as treating him “as a fool,” given that the KMT had 69 legislative candidates to the TPP’s 11.
Hou yesterday said that talks between the two parties are still ongoing, while Ko said he would “let nature run its course.”
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