Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said he misspoke when he referred to the nation as the “Republic of China [ROC] area” when talking about the protests this week in Hong Kong against a proposed extradition bill.
During an inspection tour of Tianliao District (田寮) on Wednesday, reporters asked Han for a comment and he replied: “Currently, for the Republic of China area, we absolutely cannot accept the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement used in Hong Kong and Macau.”
Asked yesterday to clarify his remarks, Han said it was “clearly a slip of tongue.”
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) refers to the “mainland area” and the “Taiwan area,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful told reporters in Taipei after attending his second Executive Yuan meeting.
The mayors of the six special municipalities are eligible to attend Cabinet meetings.
The Taiwan area is Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, he added.
“Why would I say [the Republic of China area]? I would definitely say the Taiwan area and the mainland area, based on the cross-strait act,” he said.
People often chastise him over errors in his speeches, which is “really unnecessary,” he said.
The Republic of China, “our way of life” and democracy must be defended, he said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had told Han during yesterday’s meeting that he should not call the ROC an area, Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka told reporters.
Su said the nation should simply be referred to as the ROC, she said.
When asked to comment on the matter, Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Anne Wang (王淺秋) said “area” is a neutral word that can be added to different place names, such as “the Asian area” or “US and European areas.”
The mayor simply added the word “area” to the ROC, and criticism over such wording showed that “there is no limit to the smear campaign against Han,” Wang said.
TERRY GOU
Meanwhile, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), another KMT presidential hopeful, spoke to reporters at a news conference where he announced he was donating NT$5 billion (US$159.7 million) to the National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center in Taipei.
Gou made the announcement alongside university president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) and center head Cheng Ann-lii (鄭安理), one day after the Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine said he had not fulfilled a promise to donate equipment and funds to the center.
Gou told the news conference that he hoped to incorporate immunotherapy, big data and 5G into the field of cancer treatment studies.
He said that he promised to support cancer research because two of his loved ones had died of cancer.
Cheng said that the Yonglin Foundation, a charity cofounded in 2000 by Guo and his late wife, Serena Lin (林淑如), has been of great help to the center.
Gou said the NT$5 billion donation was also a present to congratulate Kuan on his election as university president in Jan. 5 last year.
Approval of the donation had been delayed for almost a year as the Ministry of the Education had refused to approve Kuan’s appointment, citing conflict of interest in the election process and other possible breaches of regulations.
The ministry finally approved Kuan’s appointment on Dec. 24.
Gou said that over the past decade, he has come to realize that a project involves a lot of administrative procedures, and that if he is elected, he would work on improving government efficiency.
Gou also discussed the KMT primary process.
He said that KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) has agreed to allow the party’s presidential aspirants to choose the TV network to broadcast their platform presentation on July 3.
The KMT on Wednesday announced that it had chosen CtiTV to broadcast the event and would not change its decision.
Tseng is to meet with representatives at a TV network he recommended and plans to offer candidates two to three networks to choose from, Gou said.
Asked if he has some leverage over Beijing because of his business investments and factories in China, Gou said that China has laws protecting foreign investors, but if Chinese authorities took measures against his company, “who would dare make any investment in China?”
A certain high-level Chinese “vice secretary-general” recently visited his company in Tianjin, Gou said.
“He was afraid that I would move away,” the tycoon added.
In addition to Han and Gou, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and NTU political science professor Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) are also vying for the KMT nomination.
The party is to conduct its primary through public opinion polls from July 5 to 15.
The results are to be released on July 16 and the KMT Central Standing Committee is to formally announce the party’s candidate the following day.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang and CNA
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