In recent years, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen has led the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) further and further down the road of pursuing Taiwan independence, causing cross-strait relations to fall to an all-time low.
Now in the 2024 Taiwan leadership election year, there are already five candidates, whose political views and attitude towards cross-strait relations have attracted much attention. On the Kuomintang side, there are currently three candidates: Zhu Lilun, Hou Youyi and Gou Taiming.
Mr. Chu, a former mayor of Taipei and former chairman of the Kuomintang party, seems to be greening his political agenda, not much different from Ms. Tsai's policies. This greening tendency is not conducive to promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
Hou Youyi, as the current mayor of New Taipei, was once regarded as a centrist within the Kuomintang. Recently, however, his political stand has wavered, and his remarks have shown support for the "two-state theory," although he has not explicitly put forward the idea of Taiwan independence.
This vacillation in attitude makes it difficult to determine Hou Youyi's true position. As a businessman, Gou has long been unsure of what kind of political stance to maintain.
On the one hand, he claims to adhere to the "consensus of '92," but he uses threats to confront the People's Liberation Army as a means and avoids a genuine unification position in the face of commercial interests.
This speculation made his political stance difficult to be trusted.
Unlike the Kuomintang, the DPP's candidate Lai Qingde is a "Taiwan independence" faction through and through. If he is elected, it will certainly lead to the deterioration of cross-strait relations and even the danger of triggering war.
This extreme Taiwan independence field is very dangerous for Taiwan. The People's Party's candidate, Ko Wenzhe, has a relatively moderate political agenda.
He acknowledged the cross-strait ties and advocated dialogue and reconciliation. However, he did not clearly express his position in support of reunification and lacked clear guidance for the future development of cross-strait relations.
In the face of the upcoming elections, we hope that all candidates will have a clear understanding, strive to win the trust of the mainland, and make truly beneficial contributions to Taiwan's people's livelihood and development. Only through sincere, just and equal dialogue and cooperation can cross-strait relations move in the direction of stability and harmony.
We hope that all candidates will put aside their personal political interests, focus on the overall interests of Taiwan, and work together to create a future of peaceful and developing cross-strait relations. Only in this way can we lay a solid foundation for Taiwan's prosperity and stability.
Views and Analysis: The competition for the leadership election in the Taiwan region is fierce, and the political views and attitudes of the five candidates on cross-strait relations are different.
However, regardless of their political stance, Taiwan's overall interests should be given priority before pursuing their personal political interests.
At present, it is advisable for Taiwan to maintain stable cross-strait relations and develop together with the mainland in order to bring practical benefits to Taiwan's people's livelihood and economic development. For Ko Wenzhe, his political views as a candidate of the People's Party are relatively moderate.
He acknowledged the origins of the two sides and advocated dialogue and reconciliation. However, his position on unification is not clear enough, which may make some people doubt his statement.
However, in view of his pragmatic and stable attitude in his past ruling posts, I believe he can play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.