Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) in a speech at the Washington-based Brookings Institution on Monday emphasized Taiwan’s need for enhanced defense capabilities, while adding that the party has always been pro-US.
“If you want peace, you have to prepare for war. Self-defense is No. 1 for peace and stability,” Chu said.
He offered three defense priorities for a future KMT administration: boosting asymmetric combat capabilities, arms purchases for emergency responses and raising the reserve mobilization mechanism to the Cabinet level.
Photo: CNA
It is wrong to label the KMT as being pro-China, as it has always been pro-US, he said, adding that the KMT is dedicated to defending Taiwan and to talking to China.
Taiwan could help the West better understand China and be a model for its neighbor, Chu said.
“Taiwan can have democracy; why not China some day?” he said. “We have to wait for this to happen, but we need Taiwan as a model.”
Asked by reporters about the so-called “1992 consensus,” Chu said it is a “non-consensus consensus.”
He also drew from KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia’s (夏立言) comment that if all things must be clarified, non-political cross-strait interaction would suffer.
Chu’s comments were a practical response to Washington’s concerns about Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, National Policy Foundation associate research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said.
Chu’s speech was direct, which is an excellent beginning for restarting dialogue between the KMT and Washington on national defense affairs, the stated purpose of his visit, Chieh said yesterday.
Some of Chu’s views are a departure from those held by the Democratic Progressive Party, which, if pursued, could help set the tone for potential meetings between the KMT and Washington on defense issues, Chieh said.
Chu told the think tank that the KMT’s stance on 2027 and the increased risk of a military confrontation is to “prepare for combat and strive to avoid war,” Chieh said, adding that Chu dismissed certain KMT stereotypes, while clarifying that it would prioritize asymmetrical warfare capabilities upon a return to power.
Mentioning 2030, Chu showed that the KMT is aware of the potential threat of 2027, while being aware that a Chinese landing could evolve into a new threat beyond 2027, Chieh said.
Chu’s view is more prescient than some Washington analysts who overemphasize the need for certain weapons systems, Chieh said, adding that Chu’s view is becoming the sovereign national defense policy of the Republic of China.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening 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) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) plans to take to the courts of the Australian Open for the first time as a competitor in the high-stakes 1 Point Slam. The Australian Open yesterday afternoon announced the news on its official Instagram account, welcoming Chou — who celebrates his 47th birthday on Sunday — to the star-studded lineup of the tournament’s signature warm-up event. “From being the King of Mandarin Pop filling stadiums with his music to being Kato from The Green Hornet and now shifting focus to being a dedicated tennis player — welcome @jaychou to the 1 Point Slam and #AusOpen,” the
RSS