New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) on Monday said that he opposes Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula, as well as Taiwanese independence.
Hou is considered a front-runner in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination race for next year’s presidential election. He faces competition from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), who, despite not being a member of the KMT, has said he plans to seek the party’s nomination.
Speaking at a hearing at the New Taipei City Council, Hou said he insists on upholding Taiwan’s democratic values to allow the nation to move ahead, while opposing China’s “one country, two systems” formula.
Photo: CNA
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has said the “one country, two systems” formula, used in Hong Kong and Macau, could be customized to apply to Taiwan if China were to take control of the nation.
During the hearing, New Taipei City Councilor Chen Chi-nen (陳啟能) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Hou has never condemned Beijing for sending military jets to the skies around Taiwan.
Hou said that challenges to national sovereignty are unacceptable, and that Taiwan needs to take these challenges seriously and ensure a high level of battle readiness.
He said if Taiwan were attacked, he would rise to the challenge and called on city councilors to stop questioning his patriotism.
Chen called Hou the New Taipei City mayor of “the Republic of China [ROC], Taiwan,” but Hou corrected him, saying he should be referred to as the New Taipei City mayor of “the Republic of China,” adding the latter has a legal basis under the nation’s ROC Constitution.
“Taiwanese independence has no legal basis, so I oppose it,” Hou said.
Unity in Taiwan should not be damaged by ideology, he said.
“The ROC is our country and Taiwan is our home. We have to take good care of our home as well as our country,” he said.
DPP spokeswoman Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said that Hou’s opposition to the “one country, two systems” formula is an attempt to cheat people and solicit votes for his potential presidential race.
She accused Hou of using his rhetoric on the “one county, two systems” formula to skirt the so-called “1992 consensus” supported by former KMT president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Ma recently discussed the “1992 consensus” at an international event and publicly accepted it, so Hou should say whether he supports Ma’s stance on the issue, Lin added.
Hou on Saturday said he respected Ma’s stance on the “1992 consensus.”
Chiang I-chen (江怡臻), deputy head of the KMT Culture and Communications Committee, on Monday said Hou has described his political beliefs clearly, as he adheres to the ROC Constitution and has said: “Our country is the ROC, a democratic and free county under rule of law, and a sovereign country.”
At a hearing of the city council on Tuesday, Hou said the ROC’s sovereignty covers Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
“I am here to protect Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” he said.
Hou said he deals with cross-strait affairs based on the ROC Constitution and 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), adding that the act clearly describes ties across the Taiwan Strait.
The act describes the Taiwan area as Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and any other area under the effective control of the government, while the mainland area refers to the territory of the Republic of China outside the Taiwan area.
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 that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS