The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday lambasted new Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) vow to build a “new democratic order,” saying that her statements undercut democracy, while her proposed policies would denude national security.
Cheng, who yesterday formally assumed the position as party chair, pledged that the KMT would defend democracy and freedom, that it would recreate the “Taiwan economic miracle” of the 1960s and that under her leadership, the party would no longer be “a pack of sheep, but will instead become a pride of lions.”
Cheng also said that the party would “create a new order” and protect disadvantaged people.
Photo: RITCHIE B. TONGO, EPA
DPP Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) criticized Cheng’s “new order” comments and called on Cheng to clarify what she meant.
“Neither Taiwan nor China is a part of the other,” Hsu said while attending the Taipei Electrical Appliances Expo.
‘DICTATOR’
Hsu also criticized Cheng’s controversial comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin during an exclusive interview with German media outlet Deutsche Welle on Friday.
In the interview, Cheng said that Putin was a democratically elected leader and “not a dictator.”
Putin is seen as a dictator by all free and democratic countries, Hsu said, adding that her comments were mind-boggling to the international community.
The elections held in Russia, North Korea and even in Taiwan under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) were “fake democracy” because they all received 99 percent or 100 percent of the vote, he said, adding that Cheng should think before she makes such comments.
DEFENSE
Hsu also blasted Cheng’s position that allocating 3 percent of GDP to national defense spending was “too much.”
Cheng’s claim that national defense spending would be unnecessary if both sides of the Taiwan Strait were amenable to peace and her pledge that the KMT would be the nation’s protectors were paradoxical, Hsu said.
The weapons purchased with the national defense budget are a guarantee of peace, and everyone must remember that if a country is left without the means to defend itself, it is prone to being conquered, Hsu said.
Taiwan is unique in that it has elements of Japanese, Dutch, Spanish, English and American cultures, alongside Chinese culture, he said.
Hsu urged the KMT to recognize the importance of national defense and its relationship to peace, and to support increases to the national defense budget.
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