Premiers Of The Republic Of China On Taiwan

"I hope Han's government will focus on what's right or wrong in a matter, instead of the politics involved in it."

"I believe that the peaceful development of cross-strait ties will continue to be deepened and institutionalized."

"Both of our (Mainland China and Taiwan) legal and governance systems were built following the 'one China' structure. That is why Cross-Strait relations are not state-to-state relations and there is no room for Taiwanese independence."

"One China; peace on both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait; mutually beneficial integration; strive for a Chinese revival."

"I will set a policy goal next year to make Taiwan a bilingual country, with English and Chinese being its official languages."

"The time has come because more and more Taiwanese people have realized that Taiwan needs a new constitution."

"Neither the (ROC) central government nor the local governments can shoulder the development of the nation's infrastructure or economy alone. It must be a joint effort."

"When coal-fired power generation is a necessity for Taiwan, the Linkou Power Plant, equipped with the most advanced generators and pollution control and abatement systems and burning the types of coal that have the fewest impurities, is the model we look toward."

"We shouldn't push it away. As it is a huge market over there in mainland China, it behooves Taiwan to maintain friendly, smooth economic relations."

"Although (the one reactor at Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant) is not considered part of the operating reserve, I would make a formal report to the Legislative Yuan to reactivate it as a last resort in the event of a predictable power shortage. The manufacturing industry should have confidence in the (Taiwan) power supply."

"We will adopt low-key and pragmatic measures to establish better economic relations with other countries."

"Only when three preconditions — all ways (to save energy) have been exhausted, safety is guaranteed and a social consensus reached — would the reactivation of the Jinshan and Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plants be considered."

"When people on both sides of the Strait reach a consensus on their political system, unification will come to fruition naturally."

"Taiwanese independence is a dead end."

"The slogans of 'countering back the mainland' created by Chiang Kai-shek and 'liberating Taiwan' by Mao Zedong several decades ago should be forgotten because none of them could be put into practice."

"The key to cross-strait peace and stability lay in mutual recognition of the 1992 Consensus."

"We (Taiwan and Mainland China) may not share the same history, but we could have a common destiny and future."

"Many Taiwanese people have been interacting and associating with the Chinese for a long period of time, so their perspectives can be very valuable when addressing issues concerning Mainland China. We should view Mainland China from the perspective of Taiwan as a whole, instead of only from the DPP's point of view."

"As long as there is equality, reciprocity and no political preconditions, we (Taiwan) are willing to engage in goodwill with (mainland) China. As for China's harassment of Taiwan with military aircraft, warships, unreasonable suppression and political actions, the one being most unreasonable is China. Taiwan does not want to close the door to China. It is China that has used various means to oppress and treat Taiwan unreasonably."

"As the premier, I hold the highest executive responsibilities in the country. Seeing the suffering and even death of our people (due to COVID-19 pandemic), when we have not taken care of them as well as we can, I am sorry."

"Taiwan is a free, democratic and liberal nation, so the government would not issue a mask ban, but the government would not tolerate masked thugs, such as the man who tossed red paint on Hong Kong singer and rights advocate Denise Ho on the sidelines of a rally last month."

"Kneeling before (mainland) China and begging for mercy would not make Taiwan better."

"Once the investigation into the (Nanfang'ao Bridge) collapse is complete, anyone found to bear responsibility for the incident would be strictly punished."

"Taiwan cannot sign such an (peace) agreement (with Mainland China)."

"(Mainland) China today is like the Chinese Nationalist Party when I first entered politics (in the 1970s), when it tried to control Taiwan through martial law. Today, (Taiwan) society is entirely liberal and we have managed to come this far."

"Everybody is born as a mother’s child. When a person does not respect life, but only uses death tolls (number of 228 massacre 20,000 victims) to measure how big a historical tragedy was, how then are we to conduct a dialogue with a person like this?"

"If Taiwan can establish a democracy, so can you (Mainland China)."

"The DPP will engage (mainland) China with a positive attitude and confidence, hoping to foster constructive and well-intentioned dialogues, while maintaining the party's values and basic positions. Unfortunately, (mainland) China remains stubborn and has always tried to coerce Taiwan into a framework defined by nobody but China."

"The DPP is committed to its responsibilities for the future of Taiwan, is willing to reconcile through dialogue as a means of normalizing Cross-Strait relations, and desires to be a responsible partner of fellow democracies in the Asia-Pacific."

"Democracy and security do not fall from heaven — they come with a cost."

"No matter what we choose, our unwavering stance is to enhance the safety of nuclear power generation in the country."

"We should rebuild a just and harmonious society, where amicability exists between labor and capital, the younger and older generations, men and women, as well as concerned parties in the recent debates about legalizing same-sex marriage."

"There is no timeline for future political negotiations, but both of us (Taiwan and Mainland China) must develop and accumulate enough friendship and mutual trust."

"Both sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) are so lovely and so many of their people are behaving like heroes and heroines, and yet Taiwan's former ambition to 'recover the mainland' has become a thing of the past."

"Let's put all this (cross-strait conflict) aside. The best choice for both sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) at this moment is peace."

"With hindered communication across the strait, I will lead the (Kuomintang) party to take on the responsibility to protect and ensure the personal well-being, rights, social and economic exchange, and cultural transmission for people on both sides (Taiwan and Mainland China)."

"Of course, we are against Taiwan's independence, but we don't think right now is the time to talk about reunification (with Mainland China)."

"The two sides of the Taiwan Strait, based on the 'one China' principle, agreed that either side can freely interpret what 'one China' means in a verbal form. This means that the mainland can claim that the People's Republic of China represents all of China, while we can also claim that the Republic of China represents the whole of China."

"If the Kuomintang has the opportunity to rule (Taiwan) again, then we would have met the conditions stipulated by the (Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area) law. Assuming talks between the two sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) are successful, a Kuomintang government would be within its rights to sign a cross-strait peace treaty."

"If the government does not adjust the electricity rate, then even God could not operate Taipower."

"The then-Japanese empire suppressed the people of the Republic of China and took over the authority against our will, and so ‘Japanese occupation’ should be a proper term to describe the period."

"Many government officials have very high moral standards at the beginning of their duties, but after a while some officials sway from the right path and easily fall into the temptation of bribery and fraud."

"A country cannot solely rely on the government and opposition parties to solve all of the problems."

"We will not change what we have already announced to the public (regarding minimum wage hike). This is something that the workers have been waiting many months for, and the government should respect the efforts they put into their daily duties."

"Ask not how long the term you will serve, but ask what meaningful things you will do during your tenure."

"You have to treat every day as the last day of your appointment, regardless of how long you are going to serve."

"The relationship between Scotland and the United Kingdom and that between the ROC-Taiwan and (Mainland) China are totally different. The ROC is an independent country, so the question of announcing independence via referendum is simply a nonstarter. Any kind of referendum that aims to change the status quo would be unwise. Keeping the ROC on Taiwan as an independent, sovereign state is our topmost priority. Any idea diverging from this would be at odds with the Constitution and against our citizens’ interests."

"Where there is the will, we can make it."

"A democratic country has zero tolerance for all illegal monitoring operations."

"These Japanese troops slaughtered every man, woman and child in those areas — let me repeat — these Japanese troops slaughtered every man, woman and child in those areas."