President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that using public opinion polls for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential primary would damage party unity, adding that the party needs to be united to defend Taiwan’s democracy.
Tsai, who is seeking re-election, is facing a major challenge from former premier William Lai (賴清德) in the party primary.
The DPP Central Executive Committee on Friday last week postponed the presidential primary, which was originally scheduled on Wednesday, to May 22 in hopes of resolving the differences between Tsai and Lai through mediation.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
Some political watchers have said that the delay would stack the deck in Tsai’s favor.
“The DPP has only one option, which is unity; one plus one is absolutely greater than two,” Tsai said after visiting temples in Yilan County’s Nanfangao Township (南方澳).
“Many people have said that public opinion polls would be a more democratic mechanism,” Tsai said, adding that she was confident about winning in polls.
However, “if we continue polling, divisions will split the party, because competition brings attacks, which are harmful to unity,” she said.
The nation should not envy Hong Kong for its economy, as many Hong Kongers have fled to Taiwan because democracy is deteriorating in the territory, Tsai said.
“Certain people” are promoting a slanted focus on the economy at the expense of democracy, she added.
“Without sovereignty, there would be no freedom … and Taiwan cannot be defended without unified support for the DPP,” Tsai said. “Unity is the only chance [for the DPP] to win the election, without which there would be no democratic Taiwan.”
“There are many procedures in a primary and I hope the one that maximizes unity would be the one chosen,” she added.
Asked for comments about Tsai’s remarks, Lai told reporters that any potential DPP nominee owes it to the public to explain their policies and platform.
“My candidacy is not about negating the past; instead, it is about fighting for an opportunity to take the torch to be responsible for Taiwan,” he said. “I very much hope that the nation would support my candidacy to represent the DPP in a presidential election that we will win.”
Lai added that the DPP primary is an institution that the party is rightfully proud of and it has many imitators.
“We should cherish the democratic institution and have faith that when conducted in a sporting manner, a primary will help unify the party,” he said.
In related news, Tsai said in an interview yesterday with GreenPeace Broadcasting station that, without democracy, the nation would slide backward.
She was responding to questions about Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) comments on prioritizing the economy over democracy.
Gou on Wednesday announced his intention to compete in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential primary.
Tsai said that the nation’s leader should be a person who has the diplomatic skills to garner international support in the face of intensifying pressure from China, as she has done.
Next year’s presidential election would be a watershed moment when Taiwanese decide whether they want to maintain the status of an independent and sovereign country or embark on the road to unification with China, she said.
Aside from securing international support, such as security assistance, Taiwan’s leader must continue to strengthen national defense., as China will only deal with the cross-strait situation in a peaceful manner if Taiwan has the capacity to defend itself.
Only a strong defense capacity can guarantee peace, Tsai said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Two people were killed and another nine injured yesterday after being stung by hornets while hiking in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳), with officials warning against wearing perfume or straying from trails during the autumn to avoid the potentially deadly creatures. Seven of the hikers only sustained minor injuries after being stung along the Bafenliao Hiking Trail (八分寮) and made their way down the mountain with a guide, the New Taipei City Fire Department said. Four of them — all male — sustained more serious injuries and were assisted when leaving the mountain, the department said. Two of them, a man surnamed
Recent movements by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been “highly unusual,” but the military maintains a grasp of the situation, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Friday, after the military for the first time said it was monitoring troop movements in China’s Dacheng Bay (大埕灣). The minister gave the remarks to reporters before appearing at the legislature on the first day of its new session. The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday evening released an air force surveillance photograph of a PLA Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, and said it was monitoring the PLA Rocket Force and ground
‘ABNORMITY’: News of the military exercises on the coast of the Chinese province facing Taiwan were made public by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday Taiwan’s military yesterday said it has detected the Chinese military initiating a round of exercises at a bay area in coastal Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan, since early yesterday morning and it has been closely monitoring the drills. The exercises being conducted at Fujian’s Dacheng Bay featured an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) warplanes, warships and ground troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press statement. The ministry did not disclose what kind of military exercises are being conducted there and for how long they would be happening, but it did say that it has been closely watching
China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said. The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires. The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for
RSS