Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential nominee Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday said former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) approves of her cross-strait policy, which calls for a peace agreement with China, adding that a new Chinese law shows the need for cross-strait talks.
In a news conference after meeting with Lien, Hung said he “greatly appreciates” her cross-strait proposal, adding that Lien mentioned his meeting with former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in 2005, at which a peace agreement was discussed.
“[Lien] called on KMT members to respect the spirit the party was established under, which are to uphold party solidarity and act as one in any predicament,” Hung said.
Some KMT legislators have expressed disapproval over the party’s recent dealings, as well as Hung.
“He said it is normal to have different opinions in a democracy and advised me to table policies that will benefit both the nation and the public, and to go to the public more frequently,” Hung said.
She said that Beijing’s new national security law — which stipulates that people in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau have the same responsibility as all Chinese to “safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” — shows how important it is that the political dialogue she has called for between the two sides happens.
“We hope that [Beijing] recognizes that between [the two sides] there should be equality and dignity. Without political talks and a peace agreement, [Beijing] deems the cross-strait relationship as one categorized by a superior-subordinate relationship, placing the nation alongside Hong Kong and Macau,” Hung said.
“Could we accept that?” she asked.
“The signing of a peace agreement would demand that [China] face squarely the existence of the Republic of China [ROC] and to ensure Taiwan’s future,” she said, adding: “Would you say that our [cross-strait] argument is mistaken, especially after witnessing [China’s] adoption of the security law?”
“How could we be placed alongside Hong Kong and Macau? If we want to voice our demands in a circumstance as difficult as this — and to promote peaceful cross-strait developments — political talks are absolutely needed,” Hung said.
Asked if she would protest against China’s new law, Hung said she has done so in a statement that asks Beijing “not to hurt the feelings of Taiwanese.”
The statement — which her campaign office released late on Wednesday — said that as the People’s Republic of China and ROC’s constitutions both specify “the obligation of not pursuing the separation of sovereignty and territory,” China’s promulgation of Article 11 of its national security law is “a political statement unilaterally announced.”
“According to the ROC Constitution, as the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are now separately governed, the mainland’s national security law is not legally binding for the [ROC] government and its people,” it said.
“If China’s national security law overreaches the mainland’s remit of governance, it would not only face difficulties of execution, but also incite unnecessary disputes or even endanger peaceful cross-strait development,” Hung said in the statement.
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