《TAIPEI TIMES》 Boost defense, talk with China: Hou

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi （侯友宜）, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s （KMT） presidential candidate, yesterday vowed to bolster the nation’s self-defense capabilities and resume cross-strait exchanges on education, religious, cultural and economic initiatives.

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In an interview aired on Saturday with US broadcaster NBC News, Hou said that Taipei and Beijing should have open dialogue, but Taiwan should prepare for war.

He yesterday reiterated that position.

“As a police chief, I was in gunfights multiple times and have protected Taiwan with my life. People can testify that my life is intertwined with the safety of this nation,” Hou said on the sidelines of a campaign event in New Taipei City.

“My cross-strait policy has been very clear: We need to continue to enhance our national defense capabilities and reduce risks for a cross-strait war by having open dialogue with China,” he said.

Asked he supported a proposal by his running mate, Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong （趙少康）, to dispatch observers to inspect military facilities along the Chinese coast, and if he thought it was a practical strategy, Hou said he would proceed first on educational, religious, cultural and economic exchanges before any official exchanges take place.

Taiwan and China can cooperate in fighting crime and gradually build mutual trust, he said, adding that he would have stable and practical strategies in his cross-strait policy.

Regarding criticism over changes to the curriculum guidelines of 12-year basic education, Hou said that the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） government should not compromise on the quality of education and create conflict among generations.

“We might be poor and lacking in everything, but we should not use it as an excuse to compromise the education of future generations,” Hou said.

Controversies over the curriculum guidelines, put in place in 2019, reignited last week after Taipei First Girls’ High School Chinese literature teacher Alice Ou （區桂枝） called the guidelines “shameless” for removing classical Chinese literature recommendations, including a text on the topic of morality.

Hou said the guidelines weakened Taiwanese students’ global competitiveness in basic science by reducing the number of hours for students to learn physics, chemistry and calculus in high school.

“Taiwan is a country founded on technology. How can we compete with other countries in technology and industry if our students are weak in math and science?” he said.

Hou also urged Vice President William Lai （賴清德）, the DPP’s presidential candidate, to not create conflict among generations.

Lai “needs to see what bothered teachers and parents the most about the guidelines, rather than mobilizing all the resources the party can amass to attack a high-school teacher,” which is despicable, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES