Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday urged President William Lai (賴清德) to promote cross-party cooperation to break the political impasse created by partisan confrontation in the Legislative Yuan.
Chu said Lai should act as the nation’s president rather than as only the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) chairman with a mindset focused on “fighting against the KMT, opposition parties and Taiwanese.”
The KMT would be open to cooperation as soon as Lai shows willingness to push for unity across the political divide, he said during a New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony organized by the main opposition party in front of its headquarters in Taipei.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s success lies in cordial relations and cooperation between the central and local governments and different political parties, he said.
During his address at the flag-raising ceremony, Chu reiterated the KMT’s stance that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of a collective ethnic Chinese group and share the same culture.
The only difference between the two sides is in their respective political systems, he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China government in Beijing and the Taiwanese government in Taipei.
“Only by seeking common ground while respecting differences can the two sides of the Taiwan Strait maintain peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, during a question-and-answer session following his New Year’s address in the Presidential Office, Lai was asked if he would consider convening a round of cross-party talks featuring leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to end the impasse of the past few months.
Lai said it was part of his job as the country’s president to resolve partisan differences and push for a unified country for the benefit of Taiwan’s social stability and economic development.
One example of promoting unity was that he invited Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), a senior member of the KMT, to lead Taiwan’s official delegation to attend US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony later this month, he said.
Before Han embarks on his trip to Washington, Lai said he planned to invite him and representatives across party lines in the delegation over “for coffee” to discuss major issues and Taiwan’s future development to facilitate closer cooperation.
He also called for unity within the country despite political differences, citing the importance of doing so, as Taiwan is facing a serious threat from the outside, referring to China.
Han thanked Lai for the invitation, adding that it is crucial that mutual trust across political lines can be restored to enhance smooth cooperation between the country’s executive and legislative branches.
The DPP, and the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), the two opposition parties, have been engaged in heated verbal and physical confrontations over the past months in the Legislative Yuan.
TPP lawmakers have sided with the KMT on legislation to push through bills that the DPP has opposed, including three bills passed late last month.
The bills, which triggered scuffles in the legislature, included new measures that tighten recall petition requirements, curb the Constitutional Court’s ability to rule on cases and change government revenue allocations.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the Cabinet would take action to counter the bills as they are “difficult to implement.”
The TPP criticized Lai’s New Year’s address, saying that while the president mentioned “democracy” 26 times in his speech, he has used tactics such as obstruction, deception and intimidation to block the opposition’s progressive bills over the past year.
“It highlights how the ruling administration manipulates democracy to consolidate power, making the New Year’s speech disappointing and regrettable,” the TPP said in a statement.
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