《TAIPEI TIMES》 Hou vows protection of freedom and democracy

/ Staff Writer, with CNA

The Chinese Nationalist Party’s （KMT） presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi （侯友宜）, yesterday pledged to protect Taiwan’s freedom and democracy amid “geopolitical” tensions.

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At the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei, where dozens of the party’s executives and local government leaders rallied to show support, Hou vowed to adhere to the Constitution and preserve Taiwan’s free and democratic way of life.

Hou said the country must take into account increasing “global geopolitical pressure” and “full-fledged competition between strong powers.”

“In the face of all kinds of threats, [Taiwan] must upgrade” and make “the others” incapable of waging a war, the 65-year-old said, without mentioning China.

“Even more important is that we need to engage in dialogue and exchanges in order to navigate our way toward maintaining the stability of the region,” he added.

Trained as a police officer, Hou served as National Police Agency chief and head of Central Police University before entering politics.

In 2010, Hou was picked by then-New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu （朱立倫）, who now chairs the KMT, to serve as one of his deputies.

Hou won the New Taipei City mayoral seat in 2018 and again last year, defeating Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） candidates with wide margins, making him a preferred KMT candidate for the country’s top job as the party seeks to return to power.

He secured the party’s presidential candidacy on Wednesday without going through a primary, despite being up against Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou （郭台銘）, who also sought the KMT’s nomination.

Gou, who has pledged his support for Hou after being forced out, did not attend yesterday’s event at the KMT headquarters.

Hou yesterday said that Vice President William Lai （賴清德）, who is running as the DPP’s presidential candidate in next year’s election, was “dividing” Taiwanese and “tearing apart” the nation.

Lai is expected to continue President Tsai Ing-wen’s （蔡英文） cross-strait policy if he is elected president in January next year.

Hou denied Lai’s claims that next year’s presidential race would be a fight between democracy and autocracy, saying that “democracy and freedom have been in the DNA of Taiwanese.”

“Freedom and democracy have taken root in Taiwan for the past four decades,” he said, adding that the election would be a vote between unity or division, and peace or war.

If elected, Hou said that he would “accept monitoring by all people” in Taiwan, and would report on the state of the nation at the legislature.

The Additional Articles of the Constitution （憲法增修條文） stipulate that the legislature “may hear a report on the state of the nation by the president” when it convenes each year. Such practice requires approval from lawmakers.

Over the past two decades, no incumbent president has given a report at the legislature because of opposition from either the ruling or opposition parties.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES