Lai's National Day speech contradictory to his actions: Opposition TPP

Taipei, Oct. 10 (CNA) The opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) panned President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) National Day address on Thursday, saying it was inconsistent with the approach he has taken since becoming president in May.

It has taken five months for Lai to realize that "national interests come before the interests of parties, and the interests of parties can never take precedence over the interests of the people," the TPP said in a statement released after Lai's speech.

Over the past five months, Lai has been saying one thing and doing another, the TPP said, accusing the president of inciting populism, opposing reforms, using public instruments and resources such as the judiciary and media to attack opposition parties, and covering up the failings of the governing party.

In the eyes of the people, Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is one that refuses to engage in dialogue and is gradually moving towards dictatorship, TPP said.

The opposition party's response was focused mainly on the part of Lai's National Day address in which he said that "in democratic countries, political parties internally promote the nation's progress through competition, and externally they unite to work toward achieving national interests."

"No matter our political party, no matter our political stances, national interests come before the interests of parties, and the interests of parties can never take precedence over the interests of the people," Lai said Thursday morning in his first National Day speech.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Kuomintang did not respond directly to Lai's address, but its Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said earlier at the party's National Day flag-raising ceremony that it is time for the DPP to abandon its "narrow-minded ideological frameworks."

These include the concept of Taiwan independence, its anti-nuclear policy, and its support for abolition of the death penalty, Chu said at the ceremony, which was held in front of the KMT headquarters before Lai made his speech.

The KMT will support all bills and budget plans that benefit the country and the people, Chu said, urging the executive branch of the government to respond positively to laws passed by the Legislative Yuan and resolutions agreed to by all parties.

Lai should view such matters from the perspective of the country's president, rather than as a DPP leader, Chu said.

After Lai's National Day address, KMT deputy legislative caucus whip Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) noted that he had made no mention of the "motherland" issue in the segment on cross-strait affairs.

She was referring to Lai's comments last Saturday that it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) to be the "motherland" of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan,) because the ROC was established before the PRC.

Wang noted that Lai did not repeat that view in his National Day speech but instead said that the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other, a statement that was similar in tone and substance to his inaugural speech in May.

His cross-strait rhetoric has neither softened nor toughened, she said.

Also commenting on Lai's National Day address, DPP caucus whip Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) said it was rational and had emotional appeal, with both soft and hard views on China.