TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — During his trip to Japan, Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) vowed to defend Taiwan with his life, reports said Wednesday (Aug. 2).
The candidate arrived in Tokyo on Monday (July 31) for a trip filled with meetings among Japanese politicians, including former Prime Minister Aso Taro. Most attention was focused on current tensions with China and Hou’s plans to handle cross-strait relations.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, the candidate emphasized that while he wanted to seek peace to help Taiwan avoid war, his most important responsibility was to stand by the country’s freedom and democracy. He said that strengthening Taiwan’s defense capabilities needs to continue, but conflict could only be prevented if there was still dialogue with China, per UDN.
Only if there is peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait could Taiwan be safe and Japan rest at ease, Hou said. A leader also needs to be steadfast and defend Taiwan until the end, he added.
Hou visited the headquarters of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday (Aug. 1), where he met Aso, who serves as the party’s vice president, and Hagiuda Koichi, the chair of its Policy Research Council. Even though they belong to different generations, they are both concerned about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, according to Hou.
According to recent opinion polls, Hou is trailing both frontrunner Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). In addition, Foxconn Technology founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) has been traveling around Taiwan, seemingly preparing his own presidential bid and gaining support from some local KMT politicians.
