Former premier William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday said that he is the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) strongest presidential candidate and he is confident he can beat Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) if they face off against each other in next year’s election.
Han’s victory in November last year in Kaohsiung’s mayoral election — a city usually considered a DPP stronghold — must have been related to the policies of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration, Lai said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times).
Han’s ability to attract tens of thousands of supporters to a rally on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard on Saturday last week showed that the DPP has not truly addressed the issues that led to its rout in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24, he said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“This is something that needs to be handled with caution,” as Han has cleverly taken advantage of the public’s dissatisfaction with the government and encourages such emotions, Lai said.
Under such circumstances, it is very important who in the DPP would represent the party in the presidential election, he said.
Tsai has her strengths and achievements, Lai said, but added that he too has received recognition and support from many throughout his two-decade political career.
Recent public opinion polls all indicate that “I am the party’s strongest presidential candidate and that I can beat Han Kuo-yu,” he said.
“If qingliu (清流) prevails over the ‘Han wave’ (韓流), Taiwan will be fine,” Liu said.
Qingliu means integrity, but it can also be interpreted as the “Ching wave,” a play on Lai’s first name.
While Han’s slogan is “make Taiwan safe and make people rich,” he has apparently placed all his hopes on China, the biggest threat to Taiwan’s safety, Lai said.
Safety and having money are both important, but “how can you seek to make money from China, which has openly threatened to annex Taiwan?” Lai said.
Han’s approach contradictory and unlikely to succeed, he added.
Unlike Han, Lai said that he proposes ensuring Taiwan’s autonomy and improving people’s happiness.
Han appears to think that as long as the government reaches an agreement with China, Taiwan would be safe and people could make more money, Lai said.
What Han has not said is that such an approach comes with a price, namely Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, he said.
“How would China ensure your safety when it wants to annex you? Placing all hopes of safety and getting rich on China exacts too great a price, as it would require us to give away our sovereignty, and that should never be traded for anything,” Lai said.
Taiwan must be autonomous in areas including national defense and economy, he said, adding that it is the only way to ensure the nation’s sovereignty and democracy and an essential condition for people’s happiness.
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