Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) at the KMT’s separate flag-raising event for the Double Ten National Day yesterday said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sowing ideological division in the nation.
He made the remark hours before President William Lai (賴清德) called for unity in his National Day presidential address.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and KMT lawmakers occupying leadership positions in the party were seen attending the KMT event instead of partaking in the official ceremony.
Photo: CNA
“The Republic of China [ROC] was created by Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) 113 years ago, who led the revolution alongside sages and saints,” Chu said.
“The KMT forever stands with the people in defense of the ROC and Taiwan’s economic development, peace and democracy,” Chu added.
The KMT supports all bills and budget proposals beneficial to Taiwanese and national security, as the party is pursuing legislative reform and aims to broaden local governments’ self-ruling powers, especially in fiscal matters, he said.
Photo: CNA
“The party stands firmly in support of cross-strait peace and economic advancement on the path of peace,” the KMT chairman said, adding that peace underpins the party’s commitment to the so-called “1992 consensus” and the Constitution.
The so-called “1992 consensus” is a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000. It refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
“It is a shame that Lai’s presidency so far has shown that strife is the only word in his dictionary,” Chu said.
The DPP’s “prejudiced ideology” is to blame for the strife in the Taiwan Strait and Taiwanese government, he added.
The DPP must cross the political divide by giving up its ideological positions, he said.
In the 21st century, the DPP should give up its steadfast support for Taiwanese independence, and opposition to nuclear energy and the death penalty,” Chu said.
“Taiwanese independence is a dead end,” he added.
Ma said that he declined to attend the official National Day ceremony in protest of the president’s stance on the nation’s sovereignty.
There are no two nations across the Taiwan Strait, but there are two areas that can coexist in peace, Ma said, adding that Lai’s new “two states theory” has branded the president a “troublemaker” in international eyes.
At a separate event, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) slammed Lai’s endorsement of the ROC name as leading the Taiwanese independence movement into “a dead end.”
The government should handle the ROC national identity with care in its bid to capture political capital, lest it allows the enemy to set definitions for itself, he added.
Taiwan should seize the opportunity created by the particular conditions of international society to escape the ideological framework from the conflict between the two Chinas, National Taiwan University history professor Chou Wan-yao (周婉窈) said.
To identify with the ROC or the People’s Republic of China is to endorse China’s so-called unification and Taiwan’s disappearance as an entity, Chou said.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in a statement said that Lai is coming to the realization that the people are above partisan interests and that the president should practice unity by working with the opposition.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS