Former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday pledged to establish a just, efficient and harmonious government if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regains power again, as he announced his decision to run in the party’s chairperson election.
Wu made the announcement at a news conference in Taipei, which was attended by KMT lawmakers, local elected representatives and representatives from the military and the business community.
In a speech marked by praises for former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Republic of China (ROC) founder Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), Wu said he decided to throw his hat into the ring because the party, whose cultivation allowed him to climb from the position of Taipei City councilor to vice president, is in distress.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Speaking about his 40-year political career, Wu was briefly overcome by emotion when he talked about how the publication of his opinion pieces in prominent newspapers during his sophomore year at National Taiwan University led to a meeting with Chiang in 1968.
“In the autumn of 1972, when Chiang served as premier and KMT chairman, he asked then-China Youth Corps chief secretary Lee Huan (李煥) to inform me that per Chiang’s instruction, the KMT planned to nominate a number of talented young Taiwanese for a Taipei city council by-election the next year, to allow the party to take root on the island,” Wu said.
“Lee told me that Chiang personally wrote down my name on a piece of paper,” Wu added.
Wu said for the KMT to regain control of the government, which is the primary goal of any political party, it must be an effective opposition party and take to heart the needs of the public.
Laying out four objectives for the KMT should it come to power again, Wu said all party members should make a concerted effort to establish the most efficient and friendly government possible, while working to ensure economic prosperity and equal distribution of wealth.
“Third, we should rebuild a just and harmonious society, where amicability exists between labor and capital, the younger and older generations, men and women, as well as concerned parties in the recent debates about legalizing same-sex marriage,” Wu said.
Despite calling for respect for the survival and development of “people whose sexual orientation is different from that of the majority,” the former vice president questioned the necessity to alter traditional family values that the majority has adhered to for years.
The final goal is to maintain peaceful development of cross-strait ties, Wu said, adding that it hinges on two vital foundations: the so-called “1992 consensus” and the principle of “no unification, no independence and no use of force.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up the term in 2000.
Asked whether he intends to vie for the top office in 2020, Wu was evasive, saying it was too soon to talk about candidates for the next presidential race, because only by winning next year’s local elections would the KMT stand a chance of regaining power in 2020.
He also shrugged off criticism that his candidacy in the KMT’s chairperson race on May 20 would be detrimental to party unity, as he would be running against KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
“An election does not impede unity; an unfair and unjust one does,” he said.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man