By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday described his two-day trip to Shanghai as successful “city diplomacy,” and downplayed his comments about Taiwan independence and a potential presidential bid in 2016.
“Everything I said [in China] was no different than what I have said in Taiwan before. They understood that and they knew the point I was trying to make was seeking common ground and shelving differences,” Lai told a press conference at the Greater Tainan Government.
Lai talked about Taiwan independence, the Sunflower movement and the Tiananmen Square Massacre during a meeting with Chinese academics in Shanghai on Friday last week.
The remarks have been praised by independence supporters and some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians, who have said they admired Lai’s courage in “telling the truth in the face of the Chinese.”
Lai said he was “relaxed and comfortable” about making the comments, adding that he was trying to convey the message that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be “forward-looking” rather than dwelling on the past and differences.
Asked whether he would be interested in seeking the DPP’s nomination for the 2016 presidential election, Lai said he has been nominated for re-election in November and he intends to serve out the full four-year if he wins.
The 54-year-old has been described by some analysts as “one of the DPP’s rising stars” who could have the potential to challenge DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for the 2016 nomination.
Lai also criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday after it accused him of “flip-flopping” on cross-strait direct flights and the “free economic pilot zones” program.
Citing comments in previous interviews, the KMT said Lai has changed his views on several cross-strait issues. It said that in 2008 Lai had described direct flights as a “Trojan horse” that could jeopardize Taiwan’s national security and he also opposed the pilot zones, but now he supports both initiatives.
Lai said the KMT had taken his interview comments out of context in a bid to distort the public’s view.
He said the KMT should reread the interviews “carefully.”