President William Lai (賴清德) delivered his New Year’s address this morning at the Presidential Office, focusing on upholding democracy, safeguarding national security and bolstering economic resilience while also touching on political disputes in the legislature.
Regardless of any threats or challenges Taiwan faces, “we must keep firm on the path of democracy,” Lai said.
“Domestic political disputes must be solved democratically,” Lai said regarding recent wrangling between the ruling and opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“The Executive Yuan has the right to request a reconsideration of controversial bills passed in the Legislative Yuan,” Lai said.
“Constitutional institutions can also lodge a petition for a constitutional interpretation, and through Constitutional Court adjudication, ensure a separation of powers, safeguard constitutional order and gradually consolidate the constitutional system,” he added.
Lai emphasized that “the people have the right of election, recall and referendum,” as democracy means “sovereignty in the hands of the people.”
He asked that the ruling and opposition parties reconsider amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), as the central government needs adequate resources to promote the nation’s well-being.
On national security, Lai said that peace in the Taiwan Strait is essential for global security.
“The more secure Taiwan, the more secure the world. The more resilient Taiwan, the sounder the defense of global democracy,” Lai said.
Taiwan “must continue increasing our national defense budget, bolster our national defense capabilities and show our determination to protect our country,” he said.
The nation must form a “whole-of-society defense resilience” in response to major threats, as well as information and cognitive warfare, he added.
In addition to defense resilience, Taiwan must continue enhancing its economic resilience by diversifying its markets, Lai said.
Taiwan is accomplishing this by increasing investment in the US, Japan, Europe and New Southbound Policy countries, he said.
Taiwan must also “link with democratic countries so that we can together enhance the resilience of supply chains for global democracies,” Lai said.
Lai spoke of working toward a “Balanced Taiwan,” ensuring that the fruits of Taiwan’s economic growth can be enjoyed by all.
“Our nation belongs to all 23 million of us, without regard for ethnic group, generation, political party, or whether we live in urban or rural areas,” Lai said.
Taiwan has endured earthquakes and typhoons, challenges posed by authoritarianism and even won the Premier12 baseball championship, Lai said, reflecting on the previous year.
Lai spoke of Taiwan’s gold medal wins at the Paris Olympics and the International Junior Science Olympiad, emphasizing that through all the ups and downs, “we are all members of Team Taiwan.”
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS