“Are you willing to give up your advocacy of Taiwan independence? Mr Lai, you are the chairman of the [ruling] Democratic Progressive Party. Are you willing to abolish the [DPP’s] independence platform so that the public can … rest assured?” Hou said. Hou said Lai’s assurances during the election campaign that he would not declare … Read more
“China cut off communication channels with the DPP when Tsai Ing-wen was elected [as president in 2016] … I think that was an unrealistic stance. I wish China would moderate that stance and be willing to open channels, informal or formal,” said Douglas Paal, the head of the American Institute in Taiwan – the de … Read more
On Tuesday, Hou Yu-ih, the KMT’s presidential candidate and New Taipei mayor, proposed that the two sides each appoint their own pollsters to compare the polling, but this was rejected by TPP chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je. “There was no consensus at that time [Saturday] … and what’s the point of having more talks … Read more
KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih also registered on Friday. His running mate is fellow KMT member and former legislator Jaw Shaw-kong, who is also CEO and chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of China. The registration capped weeks of back and forth in which the two Beijing-friendly parties failed to resolve a dispute over who would head … Read more
The pair officially registered their candidacies the next day, as the island’s main opposition Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party failed to agree on a joint ticket to challenge Lai. With her reputation as a calm, rational and highly capable politician who is highly regarded in the political, diplomatic and academic circles of Washington, … Read more
