New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, who is on an eight-day trip in the US, on Friday said that he would not take Washington’s support of Taiwan for granted.
Speaking to reporters in New York while visiting two US think tanks — the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) — Hou said he would not take US support of Taiwan for granted and that Taipei would continue to boost its national defense capabilities to deter Beijing’s aggression.
Hou, who arrived in New York on Thursday, said that Taiwan needed to increase its military strength not only to ensure cross-strait stability and Taiwan’s security, but also to mitigate concerns held by the rest of the world regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: CNA
Hou said that Taiwan should maintain a dialogue with China to lower the risk of conflict and increase mutual understanding, but added that Taipei did not hold unrealistic expectations of Beijing.
In a statement released by Hou’s campaign office after he attended a forum held by the NCAFP, he said Taiwan was one of the most important Indo-Pacific countries and that it would do its bit to maintain peace in the region.
“Taiwan will not be a trouble-maker, but instead will play a role in facilitating peace and reducing risks in the region,” Hou said, adding that his goal was to “maintain cross-strait stability, ensure Taiwan’s security and allow the world to rest assured.”
Photo courtesy of Hou You-yi’s office
The NCAFP forum was also attended by former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Russel, former US acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Susan Thornton, who is the project director of the Forum on Asia-Pacific Security at the NCAFP, and former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Raymond Burghardt, as well as other Asia-Pacific affairs specialists.
Hou’s office said that when the KMT presidential nominee visited the CFR, he also emphasized both sides of the Taiwan Strait should maintain dialogue and increase their interactions to lower the risk of military conflict, and pave the way toward prosperity and stability in the region and the world.
During his stay in New York, Hou also met with a group of overseas Taiwanese and told them he was determined to protect the Republic of China (ROC) and pass on Chinese culture to future generations.
Hou said next year’s presidential election would decide whether Taiwan will go to war or enjoy peace, adding that “as long as we keep the ROC, we will be able to keep the peace, and our future generations will be able to stand firm,” implying that the stance of the Democratic Progressive Party is provocative.
After his trip to New York, Hou is to visit Washington from tomorrow to Tuesday to meet with AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger as well as academics from the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation, and US lawmakers.
The trip to the US has been described by Hou’s office as a “journey of dialogue and deepening friendship.”
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight