Taiwan must uphold its democracy and embrace the world for a brighter future, but would become another Hong Kong if it adheres to the idea of “one China,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Lai made the comments in response to controversy about opinions shared by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) with Deutsche Welle on Saturday.
Ma told the German media outfit that Taiwan has no choice but to trust Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on cross-strait relations, and that Taiwan could never win a war against China, implying that having a strong defense would be dangerous for Taiwan.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The time for Ma and his viewpoints belong in the past. History has turned over a new page,” Lai said when stumping for DPP legislative candidate Lin Chih-chieh (林志潔) in Hsinchu City yesterday morning. “Taiwanese must have idealism and aspire for peace, but must not be deluded.”
Ma’s “trust Xi” comment neglects the fact that China has tried to link the so-called “1992 consensus” — which the KMT supports and Beijing insists must be a basis for cross-strait relations — with Beijing’s “one China” principle and the “one country, two systems” model, Lai said.
Therefore, if Taiwan is to proceed on the path laid out by Ma and the KMT, then Taiwan would end up like Hong Kong, which is “certainly is not where Taiwanese want to go,” he said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted to 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.
Only under a DPP government can Taiwan build a stronger national defense, enhance economic growth and reinforce links to with fellow democracies, thereby building an effective deterrent, Lai said.
Heading into the campaign’s final stretch, Lai led a motorcade in Hsinchu County yesterday morning, then visited districts in Taoyuan in the afternoon to stump for DPP legislative candidates.
Meanwhile, DPP vice presidential candidate and former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) spent the day in southern Taiwan attending campaign events and riding motorcades to support legislative candidates in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung.
Separately, Lai’s campaign spokesman Vincent Chao (趙怡翔) said Ma’s comments “provided Beijing’s leaders with excuses to launch a military invasion of Taiwan.”
Chao during a news conference criticized Ma for “openly advocating for capitulation,” as Ma said in the interview that China is “too large and too strong,” and that Taiwan cannot defend itself.
Yet when asked, “Ma would not ask China to give up use of military force against Taiwan,” Chao said.
“We believe most Taiwanese are angry at hearing what Ma had to say. It is quite surprising that a former president of this nation would make such defeatist comments,” Chao said.
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