The two sides of the Taiwan Strait in their interactions should respect Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) founding of the Republic of China (ROC) 110 [sic] years ago, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday.
Chu made the remarks at a flag-raising ceremony at the KMT headquarters in Taipei to mark Double Ten National Day.
Over the past 110 years, the ROC has remained unshakable in the midst of turmoil, said Chu, who assumed the role of KMT chairman on Tuesday last week.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“From establishing the Republic of China to defending Taiwan and building Taiwan, the KMT has always stood at the forefront of the people and worked hard for this land,” he said. “We are the political party that loves the Republic of China and Taiwan the most.”
“We will always be believers” of Sun, he said, adding that whether in Taiwan, at home or abroad, all Sun’s believers “must defend the Republic of China, safeguard our freedom and democracy, and firmly guard the peace and prosperity that all our people expect.”
“Both sides of the Strait should uphold this spirit,” he said, adding that the basis of cross-strait relations was seeking common ground while retaining differences of opinion.
It is essential to respect that Sun founded the ROC 110 years ago, he said.
While the ROC was founded on Jan. 1, 1912, it was preceded by the Wuchang Uprising of Oct. 10, 1911.
A responsible ruling party should respect public opinion and defend the ROC, he said.
“Do not distort the history of the Republic of China,” or undermine the efforts past presidents and KMT members, he said.
The ROC is the name of the nation in the Constitution, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at the event.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office five years ago, the “lead role” — the ROC — seems to have taken a “supporting role” in Double Ten National Day celebrations, he said.
Tsai should apologize for the “disappearance” of the Republic of China, he added.
Ma said that the Chinese Communist Party’s separate references to the “1992 consensus” and its “one China principle” over the past six months is an “important message,” as it implies the two statements are not the same.
This indicates that there is space for each side to seek common ground while maintaining differences of opinion, Ma said.
“I have repeatedly said that the ‘1992 consensus’ and ‘one China interpretations are crucial in maintaining cross-strait peace and prosperity,” Ma said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party.
Additional reporting by CNA
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Beijing views its military cooperation with Russia as a means to push back against the joint power of the US and its allies, an expert said A recent Sino-Russian joint air patrol conducted over the waters off Alaska was designed to counter the US military in the Pacific and demonstrated improved interoperability between Beijing’s and Moscow’s forces, a national security expert said. National Defense University associate professor Chen Yu-chen (陳育正) made the comment in an article published on Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the Chinese Communist Studies Institute. China and Russia sent four strategic bombers to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific and Bering Strait near Alaska in late June, one month after the two nations sent a combined flotilla of four warships
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
‘LEADERS’: The report highlighted C.C. Wei’s management at TSMC, Lisa Su’s decisionmaking at AMD and the ‘rock star’ status of Nvidia’s Huang Time magazine on Thursday announced its list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI), which included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家), Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) and AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰). The list is divided into four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers and Thinkers. Wei and Huang were named in the Leaders category. Other notable figures in the Leaders category included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Su was listed in the Innovators category. Time highlighted Wei’s
RSS