Taiwan must uphold its democracy and embrace the world for a brighter future, but would become another Hong Kong if it adheres to the idea of “one China,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Lai made the comments in response to controversy about opinions shared by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) with Deutsche Welle on Saturday.
Ma told the German media outfit that Taiwan has no choice but to trust Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on cross-strait relations, and that Taiwan could never win a war against China, implying that having a strong defense would be dangerous for Taiwan.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The time for Ma and his viewpoints belong in the past. History has turned over a new page,” Lai said when stumping for DPP legislative candidate Lin Chih-chieh (林志潔) in Hsinchu City yesterday morning. “Taiwanese must have idealism and aspire for peace, but must not be deluded.”
Ma’s “trust Xi” comment neglects the fact that China has tried to link the so-called “1992 consensus” — which the KMT supports and Beijing insists must be a basis for cross-strait relations — with Beijing’s “one China” principle and the “one country, two systems” model, Lai said.
Therefore, if Taiwan is to proceed on the path laid out by Ma and the KMT, then Taiwan would end up like Hong Kong, which is “certainly is not where Taiwanese want to go,” he said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted to making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Only under a DPP government can Taiwan build a stronger national defense, enhance economic growth and reinforce links to with fellow democracies, thereby building an effective deterrent, Lai said.
Heading into the campaign’s final stretch, Lai led a motorcade in Hsinchu County yesterday morning, then visited districts in Taoyuan in the afternoon to stump for DPP legislative candidates.
Meanwhile, DPP vice presidential candidate and former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) spent the day in southern Taiwan attending campaign events and riding motorcades to support legislative candidates in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung.
Separately, Lai’s campaign spokesman Vincent Chao (趙怡翔) said Ma’s comments “provided Beijing’s leaders with excuses to launch a military invasion of Taiwan.”
Chao during a news conference criticized Ma for “openly advocating for capitulation,” as Ma said in the interview that China is “too large and too strong,” and that Taiwan cannot defend itself.
Yet when asked, “Ma would not ask China to give up use of military force against Taiwan,” Chao said.
“We believe most Taiwanese are angry at hearing what Ma had to say. It is quite surprising that a former president of this nation would make such defeatist comments,” Chao said.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
RSS