The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has always urged rational dialogue between the Hong Kong government and pro-democracy protesters, the party said yesterday in a statement as rallies in support of the Hong Kong protesters were held around Taiwan.
It is disappointed to see that the protests in Hong Kong have gotten out of hand rather than resolving issues through rational dialogue, it said, adding that the Hong Kong government should respect the universal values of democracy and the protection of human rights to avoid more serious social upheaval.
Only if the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities open a channel for communication with the demonstrators could the territory’s society and financial market stabilize, and its tourism industry recover, the statement said.
Beijing should not treat Taiwan the same way as it treats Hong Kong, since the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign nation, it said.
The party is completely opposed to the implementation of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” in Taiwan, as well as Taiwanese independence, and remains committed to the “1992 consensus” and the idea of there being “one China with different interpretations,” it said.
The Democratic Progressive Party should not seek to capitalize on the Hong Kong protests to help President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-election bid, it added.
The assault on Hong Kong singer-activist Denise Ho (何韻詩), who had red paint splashed on her in Taipei during an interview ahead of a rally, was “regrettable,” the KMT said, as it “severely condemned the attacker.”
The ROC is a democratic nation with the rule of law, where all opinions should be respected, it added.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) campaign office said it was “moved by and supportive of” the Hong Kong democracy movement, and that the KMT presidential candidate’s absence from the rallies did not mean he did not support the movement.
Taiwan is different from Hong Kong, and its main concern is the ROC’s continued existence and the perpetuity of the Taiwanese democratic way of life, the office said.
Taiwan would not “become like Hong Kong,” but rather “Taiwan is what Hong Kong hopes to become, and what China hopes to become,” the office added.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted to making up in 2000, refers to an understanding between the KMT and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
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