Amid disputes over the sovereignty of the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated the party’s stance that the islands belong to Taiwan.
“The DPP’s stance on the Diaoyutai Islands has been consistent and clear — the Diaoyutai Islands belong to Taiwan,” Tsai said during a campaign event in Taipei, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) separately challenged her to answer the question.
Tsai said that the KMT has been spreading false rumors about the DPP planning to give up the nation’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, adding that the rumors are not true.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“The KMT has been twisting the DPP’s stance based on false information,” Tsai said. “A political party should not play such a cheap trick in a run-up to an election. It is bad for Taiwan’s political and electoral culture.”
During a recent visit to Japan, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that the Diaoyutai Islands — which Taiwan, Japan and China state claims to — belong to Japan, triggering criticism from the KMT and Hung.
Hung later yesterday called on Tsai to not only declare that the Diaoyutais belong to the Republic of China (ROC), but also to “severely condemn Lee for fawning over Japan” by saying otherwise.
Tsai rebutted Hung’s claim that the DPP has been mobilizing students in a campaign against the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines, likening the situation to former Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) actions during China’s Cultural Revolution.
“The student protests have been initiated by the students themselves. It is really disappointing that the KMT has been repeatedly twisting facts — even the presidential candidate is doing so,” Tsai said.
She said the procedure through which the ministry implemented the changes has been declared as illegal in the courts, and a responsible government should start the entire process over.
“The government and the ministry should be held responsible for so many disputes in society,” Tsai said.
As for the speculation that she might ask Academia Sinica vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to be her running mate, Tsai said that she has been in touch with Chen to get his advice on science and technology policy platforms.
“It does not mean that he is to be the vice presidential candidate,” Tsai said. “There should not be too much speculation surrounding this issue.”
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao
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