Thu, Mar 09, 2023 page3

• Taiwanese set to defend nation: DPP

  CHIDING THE KMT: The main opposition party has tried to hobble the government’s efforts to boost Taiwan’s defense readiness amid Chinese threats, DPP lawmakers said

  • By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
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  Taiwanese are determined to defend their country amid threats of an invasion by an enemy state, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.

  However, opposition parties are trying to subvert the government’s efforts by blocking its national mobilization plan and draft legislation that seeks to protect Taiwan from Chinese infiltration, they said.

  Opposition party officials seek to sow division among Taiwanese and disparage the government’s efforts to bolster the nation’s defense, they said.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party caucus deputy director Hung Sun-han, center, and others hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  Opposition parties are trying to hobble the government’s plans to prepare for a possible invasion by the enemy, DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said.

  “We urge Chinese National Party (KMT) lawmakers to stop espousing political ideologies of the past,” Hung said, adding that the KMT is undermining national programs for invasion preparedness.

  The KMT should instead work with the government and help it improve policy proposals seeking to make the economy and society invasion-proof, Hung said.

  The KMT should help the nation prepare for an invasion by an enemy state, Hung added.

  Despite the opposition undermining the DPP’s efforts, “we have confidence in the strong will of Taiwanese and their resolve to come together as a nation and, if necessary, fight off a military invasion,” Hung said.

  Foreign media outlets, including most recently The Economist, have reported on the threats Taiwan is facing, but some reports also reported that training of the nation’s armed forces is deficient, making Taiwanese ill-prepared for a potential invasion of their country, Hung and other DPP lawmakers said.

  DPP Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said that Taiwan is a “democracy and a free society that respects the rule of law.”

  “We respect different points of view, but when the nation faces real danger ... we believe Taiwanese will have the determination to fight and defend our homeland,” Liu said.

  The government restored one-year conscription after the previous KMT administration shortened it, Liu said, adding that the most recent change in policy faced significant opposition, but also robust support from the public.

  “Surveys showed that close to 70 percent of people agreed with the policy, indicating that there is significant support for the government’s plans to enhance military capacity,” she said.

  Foreign media reports on Taiwan facing threats of an invasion should serve as a reminder that the nation has to be prepared, Hung said.

  “Taiwan must engage with and talk to the international community, showing that we are willing to prepare for military contingencies,” Hung said.

  “Taiwan should strive to gain support and assistance from the international community, especially with regard to the risk of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. We must let the world know that a conflict with Taiwan would not be China’s internal matter,” Hung said.

  “An attempt by China to invade Taiwan would affect global trade and have geopolitical consequences,” Hung said.

  DPP officials said KMT lawmakers, as well as other pan-blue camp figures and media outlets, have disparaged Taiwan’s efforts to boost defense readiness, claiming that the government would send teenagers to fight.

  The KMT has attempted to block amendments to the General Mobilization Act (全民防衛動員準備法), DPP officials said.

  By trying to block amendments to the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), the KMT also attempted to undermine efforts to bolster the nation’s ability to ward off espionage activity and subversion efforts by an enemy state and agents in Taiwan working on its behalf, the DPP officials said.
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