ROC Constitution does not mention 'Taiwan independence': Hou Yu-ih
ROC Central News Agency
06/20/2023 02:09 PM
Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) presidential nominee Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) said Monday that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, "which does not contain the phrase, 'Taiwan Independence'," is the broadest consensus of the Taiwanese people on cross-Strait issues.
Hou added that the ROC Constitution contains clear provisions on the ROC's official name, sovereignty and the territory it claims, and therefore serves as a consensus for such issues, explaining that he opposes Taiwanese independence because the Constitution makes no mention of it.
The New Taipei mayor made the remarks at a forum hosted by National Taiwan University and the Asia Pacific Youth Association, after being asked by a student how he would persuade China to accept the concept of "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait."
If independence advocates are serious in their convictions, he said, they should try and amend the Constitution, with the support of Taiwan's 23 million people.
On the broader issue of Taiwan's standing internationally, Hou said he was focused on protecting national interests amid three-way Taiwan-United States-China relations, maximizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and doing whatever is necessary to avoid a crisis being triggered.
Hou noted that as a young Taipei police official in 1993, he traveled to China to meet counterparts on a cross-Strait initiative to fight crime, adding that the exchange led to the signing of an agreement in 2009 which showed Taiwan and China can have equal, dignified exchanges, even in the absence of an official framework, as long as both sides act with sincerity and pragmatism.
During the forum, Hou also repeated his openness to extending the use of nuclear power in Taiwan if it can be done safely, and proposed reducing the proportion of energy Taiwan gets from fossil fuels "in the mid-term" from the current 80 percent to between 50 and 70 percent.
Hou's appearance at the event comes amid attempts to stabilize his campaign, after a series of recent polls showed him in third place against his competitors -- Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the centrist Taiwan People's Party (TPP).
A My-Formosa poll released on June 6 found that only 22.6 percent of respondents supported Hou, compared to 25.5 percent for Ko and 35.4 percent for Lai.
Meanwhile, a June 14 RWNews poll put Lai on 37.76 percent, Ko on 31.29 percent and Hou on 21.87 percent.
The most recent opinion poll, published by TVBS on June 18, showed Ko in first place for the first time, with 33 percent, followed by Lai with 30 percent and Hou with 23 percent.
Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections will be held on January 13, 2024.
(By Wang Cheng-chung and Matthew Mazzetta)
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