The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is focused on a head-on clash with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the run-up to next month’s presidential and legislative elections and has chosen a campaign theme of “peace vs war” and “clean government vs corrupt government,” a member of the KMT said yesterday.
Taiwan has seen consumer and housing prices increase under the DPP government, while wages have remained the same, they said, asking to remain anonymous.
When Taiwan “suffered” through the COVID-19 pandemic and was short of rapid screening and or vaccines, and during the egg shortages earlier this year, the DPP profited, the KMT member said.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
They highlighted the Tainan shooting last year that was tied to alleged illegal activities involving the local solar power industry and the im.B peer-to-peer lending scam, saying they were evidence of the “inherent corruption that was prevalent” under the DPP government.
The DPP’s presidential candidate, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), in the past claimed to be a “practical pro-independence supporter” and supported the slogan “oppose China, protect Taiwan,” but is now saying that he wants to “protect Taiwan using peaceful means,” the KMT member said.
As long as the DPP’s “pro-independence” party charter remains unchanged, Lai would continue along the pro-independence path should he be elected, culminating in a war across the Strait, they said.
As such, the KMT would continue to highlight the theme that voting for the DPP means to invite war, the party member said.
The KMT would continue to push for cross-strait interactions, and underscore that it is the only party that can be friendly with the US and Japan while maintaining a cordial relationship with China, they said.
KMT presidential candidate New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) is the only presidential candidate to openly oppose Taiwanese independence, they said, adding that Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has never had a clear cross-strait policy.
Meanwhile, a seperate KMT member said that the party plans to hold 17 major rallies, starting with the one in Yilan County on Friday, in the run-up to election day.
The party is not only mobilizing its supporters across the nation, but also launching an Internet advertising campaign, which is to include short videos, that would make the party’s candidates’ platforms clear to the people, they said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
RSS