New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday distanced his campaign from comments made by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who said that Taiwan “can never win against China,” so should reduce its defense spending.
Ma made the comments on Saturday during an interview with Deutsche Welle in which he defended previous comments that the duration of mandatory military service and the defense budget should be four months and 2.5 percent of GDP respectively.
The view that Taiwan should have defense capabilities to fend off a Chinese invasion until the US and Japan can send aid is “too optimistic,” Ma said, adding that the US was defeated by China 18 times in wargames simulating a conflict over Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
On the sidelines of a campaign event in Kaohsiung, Hou yesterday said: “Ma’s thinking differs from my own.”
“My consistent policy is the 3D strategy of deterrence, strengthening national defense and armaments, and increasing self-defense capabilities while pursuing dialogue and discussion,” Hou said. “I do not harbor unrealistic ideas about China’s intentions for Taiwan.”
If elected, he would stubbornly defend Taiwan’s democracy and freedom while opposing Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for unifying with Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Chen Wen-chian, Taipei Times
Ma in the interview said he believes Taiwan does not need any military expenditure beyond the levels he had authorized as president.
“No matter how much you defend yourself, you can never fight a war with the mainland, you can never win,” he said.
Asked if he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) can be trusted, Ma said: “As far as cross-strait relations go, you have to.”
“I do not believe he is pushing for unification,” he added.
Asked about Chinese balloons and warplanes approaching Taiwan’s airspace, Ma said that Beijing has resorted to such actions due to the independence stance of Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate.
Are the balloons collecting weather data or intelligence? Ma asked, adding that Taiwan was not likely to accept flyovers by spy balloons and would shoot them down.
Ma also refused to comment on US President Joe Biden’s characterization of Xi as a dictator, saying: “The term is not important in cross-strait relations because we have to create a situation that we can deal with each other peacefully.”
Hou’s running mate, Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), yesterday said that Ma does not represent Hou.
People should not look outside of Hou’s comments to understand his views, Jaw said on the sidelines of a campaign event at an animal shelter in New Taipei City.
“Mutual trust is important to conduct cross-strait dialogue, but that trust is not unconditional,” he said. “We need to assess whether the other side is sincere in its comments and observe whether its actions are harmful to us.”
The Constitution recognizes that there is only “one China,” but it is not a timetable that demands the government to achieve a specific state at a designated time, he said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS