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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by