KMT, DPP vice presidential candidates exchange fire over China

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) The vice presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) sparred over their approaches to China at a televised policy presentation forum on Friday evening.

In a format in which the candidates had three 10-minute periods to present their policies, the KMT's Jaw Shau-kong (趙少康) decided to go on the attack for most of his allotted time, including over how the DPP has engaged with China since taking power in May 2016.

Jaw, who is also chairman of the Taipei-based Broadcasting Corporation of China, said the DPP government and Beijing have not only avoided interacting with each other but also frequently engaged in bitter reproaches.

Taking aim at DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) pro-Taiwanese independence comments in the past, Jaw said a victory for the DPP ticket in the January election would further strain already tense cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Lai has on more than one occasion described himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence," with the last instance taking place in 2017, when he was serving as the country's premier.

He has toned down his rhetoric since 2020, however, when he took over as vice president, proclaiming that "Taiwan is already an independent sovereign country" and that there is "no need to declare independence."

"Lai Ching-te is a terrorist [endangering] the peace of Taiwan," Jaw claimed, adding that Hsiao, who was previously Taiwan's envoy to the United States, had been "picked by the U.S. to watch over Lai," without providing evidence.

Hsiao, on the other hand, said her KMT opponent kept blaming the DPP for cross-strait tensions without acknowledging China's authoritarian expansion in recent years.

"China never stopped its military buildup even when former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT was heading the government [in Taiwan]," she said.

Hsiao said she and Lai would defend the status quo of peace between Taiwan and China, and said "we will not let war break out in the Taiwan Strait."

"We believe that national defense and economic strength can best guarantee Taiwan's security," Hsiao said, adding that "the weaker you are, the more susceptible you are to being bullied."

Taiwan must continue boosting its defense capabilities and expanding economic links with different countries to deter threats from China, Hsiao said.

She then denounced the KMT's proposals to sign trade agreements with Beijing as seeking to increase Taiwan's economic dependence on China, which was "dangerous" given its current precarious economy.

Hsiao also, without elaborating, questioned her opponent's defense policy, saying the KMT tended to change its discourse on the issue when facing different interlocutors, including Washington and Beijing.

Speaking on the topic, Jaw stressed that he had always been opposed to the communist party and committed to defending the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.

In order to maintain peace, however, Jaw said establishing dialogue and communication mechanisms were essential, arguing that "[we] should try every possibility."

He said that should he and Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the KMT's presidential pick, be elected, they would establish a "military communication channel" with China and ask Beijing to stop sending military aircraft and vessels to conduct exercises near Taiwan.

Jaw also proposed sending a "military observer" to China to look at its military deployment in coastal areas in an attempt to build trust but noted that it would not be a reciprocal arrangement.

The third vice presidential candidate Wu Hsin-ying (吳欣盈) of the Taiwan People's Party spent most of her allotted time talking about digital issues and did not touch on cross-strait relations during her presentation.