Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday reiterated that her cross-strait policy is no different from that of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), a day after KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said her policy deviated from the mainstream and that the party has decided to call an extempore congress to consider a new candidate.
Speaking at the World Peace Congress held by the Chinese World and Nation Peace Association, Hung said she is “still the presidential candidate nominated by the KMT.”
Addressing the crowd, Hung said she was “alone on the stage” as the president had just left.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
She recounted her candidacy from the first day she registered for the KMT primary.
“I have felt this solitude since the day I registered for the primary, but I have not been alone or lonely, since I have many friends supporting me. Today, there are people who said it felt awkward as they do not know how to address me. It is not. I am the deputy legislative speaker of the Republic of China, and currently still the KMT presidential candidate,” Hung said.
She said that Ma “once publicly stated on television that my cross-strait policy is no different from his.”
“My ‘one China’ is the Republic of China,” she said, adding that Ma’s cross-strait policy has gained people’s trust and reflects mainstream public opinion.
While there is very little difference between her cross-strait policy and Ma’s, hers is “clearer on certain aspects,” Hung said.
She highlighted the need for a peace agreement, saying that to secure the achievements Ma has made in cross-strait relations over the past seven years, there needs to be “a breakthrough and a deepening of the [so-called] ‘1992 consensus.’”
Ma, who left yesterday’s event early, had a chance to shake hands with Hung before leaving. He did not respond to media queries about Hung’s cross-strait policy and whether he would talk her out of the race. He said he would stand by the decision made by KMT headquarters.
Separately, World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce president Jonathan Huang (黃正勝), who is also the head of a Hung supporters’ club within the association, said Hung’s comment on the “eventual unification” with China worries many Taiwanese businesspeople.
“Cross-strait relations should have been the KMT’s forte. Why has it become a problem [for the party], which has aroused the concern of many overseas Taiwanese businesspeople? Why talk about ultimate unification? There is no need to stir up a hornet’s nest,” Huang said.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight