Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Tuesday said that he is “both Taiwanese and Chinese” at a meeting with former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱).
The KMT is the Republic of China’s (ROC) founding party, Chiang said, adding that for the KMT, China is the ROC.
“I was born and raised in Taiwan. I am Taiwanese,” he said. “From the perspective of blood origin, culture and history, I am also Chinese.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“On the basis of the Constitution of the ROC, I am an ROC national,” he added.
Chiang and Hung reached a consensus during their discussion that the ROC Constitution is the basis for the nation’s standing in cross-strait relations, and that it should be a bipartisan consensus, Hung’s office said.
If that is to be changed, the Constitution would have to be amended, the office said, adding that political parties and politicians have a duty to explain the consequences and costs of amending the Constitution.
Like Hung, Chiang was elected after the KMT’s defeat in a presidential election, the office said, adding that the two understand the hardships that come with the position.
They understand that the party cannot appeal to young people just by recruiting a few of them, it said.
The two believe that young people have a negative opinion of the KMT mainly because of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) labeling of it, the office said.
While the influence of ideology is not the main reason young people dislike the KMT, the distortion of historical facts by school curriculum guidelines cannot be ignored, it said.
The ROC Constitution is a “one China” Constitution, Hung said.
The national direction set by the Constitution is ultimate unification, she said.
“These directions are challenges the chairperson of the founding party must face,” she said.
The ROC’s intrinsic territory is clearly stated in the Constitution, Chiang said, adding that as long as it has not been changed with constitutional amendments, it should be followed.
The ROC and the democratic system people cherish should be defended as preconditions for cross-strait peace and acceptance by the public, Chiang said.
In terms of identity, Chiang said he believes that the zhonghua (中華) — a term generally accepted to be approximate to “Chinese” — cultural heritage that was originally integrated into life and culture has been politicized, causing some things that did not need to be doubted to become problems stalling the nation.
Hung and Chiang have a high level of consensus in terms of their views of the importance of the KMT in the nation’s development and maintaining of the “status quo” and facing historical facts, Hung’s office said.
They hope that under the leadership of Chiang, the KMT can become a party that gives people hope and develops the nation, it added.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS