Former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members to stop blindly adhering to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) definition of what constitutes “loving Taiwan,” saying that the KMT should remain a staunch upholder of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution.
“Ever since [former president] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) galvanized debates on Taiwan’s national identity two decades ago, the KMT has forfeited its right to interpret the meaning of ‘loving Taiwan,’” Hung said on Facebook yesterday.
Hung said the definitions proposed by the DPP have been the mainstream interpretations, regardless of whether the KMT was in power, forcing the party to follow and “honor the ideas with incense.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“That, as far as I am concerned, is one of the major reasons contributing to the KMT’s disastrous defeat today,” said Hung, who is vying for KMT chairperson against three other candidates.
Hung made the remarks in a belated answer to the questions posted during Saturday’s debate held by pro-reform KMT members for candidates in the party’s Mar. 26 chairperson by-election.
She was the only chairperson hopeful who failed to attend the debate, citing conflicting schedules.
The event focused on questions regarding the participation of young people in the party; the positioning of the perceived outdated Huang Fu-hsing military veterans’ branch; the handling of party assets; the cross-strait relationship and the KMT’s core values.
Hung said that the concepts of “the ROC is on Taiwan” and “the ROC is Taiwan” stated in one of the questions were put forward by the KMT’s opponents and are detrimental to Taiwan.
“It would be unfortunate if the KMT chooses to believe that the party would not have a future unless it adheres to these notions. As the founding party of the ROC, we must continue to be a stalwart defender of the ROC Constitution,” Hung said.
Regardless of the predicaments that await the KMT, the party must uphold the Constitution and its regulations. The ROC holds sovereignty over all China and that the ROC government is merely on Taiwan at the moment, Hung said.
This should be the KMT’s unwavering stance and the party’s way of “loving Taiwan,” she added.
Hung said if the KMT thinks it has to abandon its core values and lean toward those of its opponents just because of two electoral defeats, “I wonder whether it would be a smart choice or rather a self-degrading behavior?”
Hung said the Huang Fu-hsing chapter has been the KMT’s most loyal friend and is by no means responsible for the party’s current position, which she said was caused by the party’s indecisiveness and cowardice.
She also pledged to handle the KMT’s remaining controversial assets in an open and transparent manner if elected chairperson, to stop the issue from being a weakness for the party.
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