Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who is vying for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential nomination, yesterday reiterated his opposition to a Taiwanese version of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula.
Han on Saturday at a rally in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六) told supporters that “‘one country, two systems’ can never be implemented in Taiwan.”
“Taiwanese can never accept it, unless it is over my dead body,” he added, saying the phrase “over my dead body” in English.
Han led the crowd in chanting “reject ‘one country, two systems’” and asked his supporters to have faith in him.
“If I am given the opportunity to lead the Republic of China [ROC] and become president ... I promise that ‘one country, two systems’ will never be carried out on the land of Taiwan,” Han said.
Han yesterday told reporters that his stance has not changed.
He said that in April when he was asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Chih-hung (林智鴻) about the issue at a question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council, he said: “With my hand on my heart — I support the ROC and oppose ‘one country, two systems.’”
“My position has never changed. Some people have been trying to paint me with a red brush; I do not understand what they are thinking,” he said.
Han’s opponents have accused him of being pro-China and reluctant to criticize Beijing.
In March, he visited China’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau while signing trade deals there, and politicians from the DPP and other parties accused him of supporting the “one country, two systems” framework.
“When have I ever said I would accept the ‘one country, two systems’ formula?” Han asked the crowd on Saturday. “It is impossible for Taiwanese to accept the ‘one country, two systems’ model used in Hong Kong and Macau. Absolutely impossible.”
Organizers estimated that more than 120,000 people attended the rally, while Yunlin police did not provide an estimate.
It was the third large rally to support Han’s presidential bid, following a gathering in Taipei on June 1 and another in Hualien on June 8.
Han is one of five people expected to participate in the KMT’s primary to choose a candidate for the presidential election in January next year.
The party plans to select its candidate based on the results of public opinion polls, which are to be conducted by five polling firms from July 8 to 14.
The results are to be announced on July 15.
Additional reporting by Ge Yu-hao
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