The government owes the public an apology for its failures over the past seven years and President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Double Ten National Day address was “arrogant from start to finish,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said in a statement yesterday.
Tsai’s speech “creates a grand satire of the people’s impoverishment and the threat of war,” the KMT said.
The domestic policy achievements Tsai touted in her speech were failures, it said, adding that lives were lost needlessly in the COVID-19 pandemic, controversy surrounded the indigenous submarine program, public servants were “defamed” due to pension reform and there have been numerous power outages.
Photo: Lien Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
Instead of facing her poor domestic record, Tsai leaned on her diplomatic performance, utilizing “illusory intellectual language” to whitewash her lack of achievement, it said.
The international standing of the Republic of China (ROC) has actually diminished during the seven years under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the KMT said, citing nine diplomatic allies that cut official ties and failure to secure invitations to the World Health Assembly and International Civil Aviation Organization.
The DPP administration brought cross-strait relations to their coldest point in 20 years, it said, adding that its policies are the main reason that Taiwanese face the threat of war.
Photo: Tu Chien-rong, Taipei Times
Voters should usher in a change of power, as allowing the DPP to continue “would not only harm the ROC, but also the future of 23 million Taiwanese, and of global peace and stability,” it added.
Earlier yesterday, the KMT held its own flag-raising ceremony at its headquarters in Taipei, as party heavyweights joined former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in boycotting the government’s Double Ten National Day event over the use of “Taiwan” in its English title.
Ma, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) were among the party members at the morning event before they attended ceremonies in other areas governed by the KMT.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), KMT Legislator Sufin Siluko (廖國棟), New Power Party Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉瑜) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) participated in the main flag-raising ceremony outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) vowed in a post on Facebook in response to Tsai’s final National Day speech as president to keep Taiwan peaceful, democratic and prosperous.
Lai is the DPP’s presidential nominee and the frontrunner in next year’s election, according to opinion polls.
The DPP is a responsible ruling party dedicated to stable development, and one that remembers its mission and values, Lai wrote, adding that the nation is walking on the right path thanks to the shared labor of 23 million Taiwanese.
Lai agreed with the formula to maintain peace Tsai spoke about, saying that fostering Taiwan’s international stature, solidifying a national consensus for dealing with Beijing and developing a mutually acceptable framework of interaction would be the keys to peaceful coexistence.
The nation remains committed to enabling both sides of the Taiwan Strait to become contributors to peace and stability in the region, he said.
Under his leadership, Taiwan would emphasize solidarity between democratic forces, solidarity across the political divide and solidarity with the global alliance for democracy in continuation of the president’s “four commitments,” Lai wrote.
Tsai’s four commitments are to maintain a free and democratic constitutional system, ensure Taiwan and China will not be subordinate to each other, resist annexation or encroachment on national sovereignty, and guarantee that Taiwanese alone will decide the nation’s future.
Lai reiterated that military deterrence, economic security, partnerships with other democratic countries, and principled and firm leadership would be the basis of Taiwan’s national security if he is elected.
“Supporters of Taiwan and the Republic of China must band together under the common denominator of national consensus of the Republic of China, Taiwan to safeguard our free and democratic way of life,” he wrote.
The guidance of the DPP government in the past seven years was not free of mistakes, but it has corrected all its errors with all possible haste in a spirit of gratitude for its supporters and critics, Lai said.
The National Hope Project of his campaign platform would seek to transform emerging challenges into opportunities for the nation to stay on its path of a free, democratic, prosperous and just society, he said.
Separately, Ko, the TPP’s presidential candidate, said that Taipei’s professed dedication to the “status quo” is at odds with its accusations that its opponents are colluding with China.
The part of Tsai’s speech he most agreed with was the last segment, in which the president affirmed that she would step down next year and that the nation would live on, Ko said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent presidential candidate, also attended the main ceremony.
The signatures his campaign has garnered to launch his presidential bid are evidence that Taiwanese are tired of conventional politics and want a government with an enterprising spirit, Gou told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
For numerous Taiwanese businesspeople living abroad and other expatriates, the nation’s flag and anthem are a reminder of home, and an exhortation that they and their compatriots must strive side-by-side toward a better future, he said.
The honor and unity behind these symbols of the nation enabled Taiwan to prevail against challenges and build its high-tech economy, which helps protects its sovereignty, he said.
A renewed spirit is needed to overcome the crisis of energy transition and artificial intelligence the nation faces, Gou said.
“I salute the martyrs of the revolution, the hardworking civil servants and all my fellow citizens with my most sincere respect in our common pursuit to realize a peaceful, prosperous and honestly governed Taiwan,” he said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan and CNA
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS