Tue, May 20, 2025 page2

• KMT highlights 10 criticisms of Lai after one year in office

  • By Lin Hsin-han and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  As today marks one year in office for President William Lai (賴清德), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) announced a list of 10 broken promises and failures with Lai's administration, from failure in tariff negotiations with the US to flawed energy policies.

  The KMT criticized Lai for failing to deliver on his campaign promises, which reflects not only his lack of governance capability but the true face of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) “green authoritarianism.”

  The DPP waves the “flag of democracy while wielding dictatorial control” and its own form of “green communism,” said the KMT.

  

  Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Eric Chu speaks in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Taipei Times file photo

  The KMT listed ten failures of the Lai administration.

  Firstly, tariff talks with the US regarding tariffs announced early last month have failed, with Lai's government handing over Taiwan’s interests on a platter, they said.

  Secondly, Lai is “selling out” Taiwan, having recently described cross-strait relations as “a small company [Taiwan]” and “a big company [China],” saying the two sides could discuss the terms of a merger and acquisition, they said.

  Taiwanese sovereignty is not a product for sale, and is not a bargaining chip for the DPP, the KMT said.

  Thirdly, the judiciary has become a political weapon, and democracy an “empty shell” under Lai, they said.

  The fourth criticism is that rational political discourse has become empty words, while the violent silencing of the opposition has become routine.

  The fifth criticism is that problematic energy policies such as the shutting down of all of Taiwan's nuclear power plants have left the people angry and without power, they said.

  Sixth is that the amount of financial fraud has reached a record high, while efforts to stop fraud have been completely ineffective, they said.

  For the seventh criticism, the KMT said that the budget increased from last year, with overworked public healthcare personnel bearing the brunt.

  The Ministry of Health and Welfare budget reached NT$370 billion (US$12.3 billion), but there is still no way to prevent the collapse of the healthcare sector.

  At number eight, the KMT said the Lai administration has repeatedly called for reconsiderations and reviews of bills that were passed by the legislature, showing that the will of the people does not match the will of the DPP party.

  The nineth criticism is that the Lai administration repeatedly shirked responsibility for the case of Kai Kai (剴剴), the one-year-old boy tortured to death by his foster caregivers in 2023, the KMT said.

  Lastly, the Cabinet under Lai has bullied and intimidated subordinates, while misappropriating public funds, they added.

  In other news, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said today that Lai should slow down and stop his line of “protesting China,” which is hurting Taiwan.

  Ma said he had noticed Lai had recently made some adjustments in his recent comments on China, with his approach showing more flexibility and goodwill towards resolving the “deadlock” between the two countries.

  He hopes that Lai would continue to approach cross-strait relations with this attitude, he added.

  After taking office, Lai announced a new “two-state theory,” as opposed to the “one China” principle, which deviated from the Constitution and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), Ma said.

  He also called China a “foreign adversary” and suggested “decoupling from China,” to align with the West, he added.

  Ma said he has three suggestions for Lai as he completes his first year in office.

  Firstly, he suggests Lai handles new global developments with more caution to ensure Taiwan’s security, by maintaining a balance in relations with both the US and China, he said.

  Lai should base cross-strait relations on the Constitution, the aforementioned act governing cross-strait relations, the 1992 consensus and the “one China, with respective interpretations” principle, Ma said.

  Secondly, Lai should hold commemorative events for important anniversaries coming up this year, such as the 80-year anniversary of the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, he said.

  Lastly, Lai should stop political infighting in light of domestic and international challenges, and end the push for widespread recalls, he added.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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