Next year’s presidential and legislative elections offer a choice between war and peace, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
“Vote for the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party], and there will be no battlefield across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Speaking at a flag-raising ceremony hosted by the KMT at its headquarters, Ma said the “resist China, protect Taiwan” policy promoted by the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration over the past six years had caused an unprecedented increase in cross-strait tensions.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) cross-strait policy is out of tune with public opinion and has lost public support, said Ma, who served as president from 2008 to 2016.
Taiwan should not only prepare for war, but also avoid war, he said.
Avoiding war means not being provocative, and as a gesture to that end, Taiwan should reopen the “small three links” as soon as possible to ensure national secutiry along with the well-being of Taiwanese, he said.
The “small three links” refer to direct trade, postal and transport services between China and the Taiwanese outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu. The links were initiated on Jan. 1, 2001, but were suspended in February 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regarding Tsai’s restoration of one-year mandatory military service for young men, Ma said: “Vote for the DPP, youth go to the battlefield. Vote for the KMT, there will be no battlefield on either side of the strait.”
Ma credited KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) for substantial gains in the mayoral and councilor elections on Nov. 26. The KMT won 14 of the 22 city and county leadership posts being contested.
With morale bolstered within the KMT, Ma said the party should work toward victory in the Taipei and Nantou legislative by-elections later this month and in March respectively, as well as the presidential and legislative elections next year.
Addressing the ceremony, Chu said that the KMT is determined to win the legislative by-elections and nominate strong candidates for the national elections.
The KMT must “walk the right path and select the right people” to run in next year’s elections, and must be “selfless and united” to achieve its goals, he added.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
RSS