TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Kuomintang's (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih on Saturday (Dec. 30) made clear his stance on cross-strait policy, stating opposition to Taiwan's independence, upholding democratic freedom, and rejecting "one country, two systems."
During the presidential candidates' debate, Hou criticized Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te's support of President Tsai Ing-wen's vague policy toward China.
He questioned Lai's commentary about sharing bubble tea with China's president Xi Jinping in the media's Q&A session.
In the debate, Hou said any consensus between Taiwan and China should be established based on Taiwan's Constitution and the basic cross-strait framework. He emphasized the 1992 Consensus doesn't denote recognition of "one country, two systems."
Hou stressed that the future of Taiwan should be decided by its 23 million citizens under a principle of non-recognition of sovereignty and non-denial of governance. He said all should engage in dialogue under the constitutional framework to reduce risks.
The KMT candidate also advocated developing Taiwan's self-defense capabilities to maintain peace and saw the lack of cross-strait dialogue leading to the current situation.
He suggested that future cross-strait exchanges start from the civil sector and then move to official government interactions to minimize risks.