Women Politicians In Taiwan

"Constitutionally, and presently, we consider the Chinese Communist Party a menacing party and a menacing regime. They have missiles targeting us and have incessantly threatened to invade us by force."

"Taiwan will be a beautiful country. A normal country. We need time to change, the road is long but we will continue to follow it."

"We are in a complicated situation but we are trying to maintain and increase our democracy and our values. We are rather isolated and unsupported within international society but our responsibility is to promote cooperation on practical issues, such as public health, climate change or human rights, but also on democratic values. The rest of the world should do the same with us."

"It is often difficult to explain to people why democracy is important. Even in Taiwan, even if we are a young democracy, it is not a simple mission. It is enough to look at the previous local elections to understand that even here it happens that hope for economic growth is placed before democratic values."

"According to some, Beijing may need to try to recover Taiwan with greater urgency, while others think it should focus more attention on its internal problems. From my point of view, I believe that China should really focus on its own internal problems because otherwise it risks one day following the same parabola of Russia and maybe it will need to reorganize in several small regions with greater autonomy than now."

"I believe that China needs to address its own internal problems, from Xinjiang to Tibet, and when they manage to fix them and they can be more stable the discussion between us will be easier."

"About a more pragmatic approach in relations with China, from my point of view I believe that real advantages for both of us, Taipei and for Beijing, can only come from a normal relationship and a balanced dialogue between country and country, between party and party. This is something that can only happen if Taiwan strengthens its democratic system and its international role."

"In terms of global knowledge about Taiwan, more could certainly be done. And we would need it. Let's start with how we are called: our official name is still the Republic of China but now most of our population prefer to say that our name is Taiwan. As far as we are concerned, we would very much like to become friends or partners with a larger number of countries around the world, but it is not a simple matter. In our history, most of the time governments have focused only on the relationship with mainland China. We have changed this line, trying to diversify international relations."

"We are two separate political entities. Of course, we must also explain it to other international friends. That is, Taiwan and China are two countries that are in a bit of trouble. In our respective constitutions, they also put the other's territorial sovereignty in their own constitutions. This is the biggest trouble for both of us. However, in fact, if we look at the two countries at present, whether they are sovereignty, culture, or the entire political system of the country, they are basically two completely different countries."

"Taiwanese people have lived under military threat from China over several decades. It will continue to be a problem for the people of Taiwan as long as the Chinese do not renounce the use of force. However, we are in the dynamic process of enhancing our capabilities of curbing its threats. I see that we are in a position to deter the Chinese by making it their consideration of an invasion too costly to operationalize."

"Taiwan and South Korea maintain a deeply strong trade partnership. We are open to any opportunity to complement each other and make both of us more capable and competent. I am aware that South Korea has a great influence on the semiconductor industry. Thus, I think that both of us can cooperate as long as we share a common goal, which is technological advancement that will take humanity to the next level. A shared purpose between us is to invent technologies not to control and monitor citizens but to make quality of life better for all in cooperation with our partnering nations."

"It is clear that peace in the Taiwan Strait is a very important matter that has global consequences. Again, it would be in everyone's interest to see stability and peace maintained, to do what is possible to deter any kind of destabilizing moves and any unilateral changes to this to the stable situation in the Taiwan Strait on part of the PRC."

"There is a longer-term threat and that is, China hasn’t renounced the use of force to absorb Taiwan, and that is not a new threat. It’s been there for decades."

"This level of mutual trust is an extremely important foundation for Taiwan-U.S. relations. We are walking a tightrope and need to move very carefully. There will be times when we face setbacks, but in the end, we are still moving forward."

"We also hope that the U.S., through its global influence, can encourage other like-minded countries to support Taiwan, take an interest in regional security, and support Taiwan’s international participation."

"The support for Taiwan and friendship with Taiwan is pretty much the same. My job here has three main focal points – security, economic issues, and political and international participation."

"Our top priority is to maintain regional stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait and beyond. It is not a matter only for Taiwan but a common issue for the interests of other regional stakeholders."

"As a governmental delegate, [I] should not take a side in a domestic election in the U.S. because it is after all the choice to be made by the American people."

"We are in a period of complicated politics and a geostrategic situation. Certainly the imperative is there to initiate negotiations. That is very much Taiwan's agenda. We certainly hope that the U.S. would share that view and also work with us to proceed with negotiations."

"Taiwan right now stands at the front lines of countering economic, political, and military coercion from the PRC. And the best way for supporting Taiwan is to engage with Taiwan on these fronts. And of course, on the economic side deepening our trade and investment relations with a stronger legal infrastructure, such as a trade agreement, would certainly help that effort."

"The reality is that China has opposed almost every international initiative we have tried over the last four decades. They have also opposed efforts we have made to strengthen Taiwan's democracy. I mean, they tried to test fire missiles in the Taiwan Strait area when we had our first presidential election."

"For those of us that are newcomers to politics, there aren't any real scandal that our opponents can use to attack us. This is why my opponent is just attacking (me) at random."

"I've told myself over and over during this (Republic of China 2020 legislative) election that: "You can't pretend to be someone else." I hope that voters can see my regular self, and that the Lai Pin-yu during election campaigning is the same as the regular Lai Pin-yu."

"Politics need to bring people hope. We need more dreams and more stories that touch people."

"It would be the "sin of our generation" if we fail to provide a good environment for our children."

"A parent of a child under 12 years old can ask their employer for 'disease prevention childcare leave' during the two weeks (extended school holiday period after Chinese New Year due to the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic). As it is a special policy, the employers are required to approve the child-care leave request, and they cannot deem an employee absent from work or make them take personal or other types of leave, nor can they dismiss or punish the employee or deprive them of a perfect attendance record."

"The labor ministry's position is to protect the right of workers to strike."

"Freedom and democracy are Taiwan's most precious values."

"The language diversity embedded in Taiwanese society is our common asset. We should not have those languages endangered or extinct."

"We hope people can set aside their fears and partisan biases and stop thinking that learning from the mistakes of the past means causing animosity."

"Politics are politics and art is art. If (Mainland) China restricts its artists and film workers from coming to Taiwan to take part in this grand occasion for the Chinese-speaking world's film industry, then of course it is not Taiwan's loss."

"It won't be inconvenient to read our name if people treat each other with open minds."

"Today someone wrote to the president's office that I should use a Chinese name instead of Kolas, which is indigenous. Reminds me of when I wrote the Indigenous Languages Act in 2017 and the Chinese press called me a separatist. They'll have to get used to it, Taiwan isn't China."

"Bilateral (cross-strait) relations have always been difficult and complex, requiring patience, wisdom and effort on both sides."

"Any threat toward Cross-Strait relations would be unproductive."

"We don't give them fish. However, we teach them fishing. In that way throughout your life you always have fish to eat. That is Taiwan's way in our joint co-operation in offering assistance to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific. All these countries value their relationship with us very much."

"If we don't put forward such a proposal (signing a peace pact with Mainland China) and start negotiating with (Mainland) China, how can we know we will not achieve any results?"

"The ultimate goal of laws is to educate the society to abide by the law and law by itself can only address the symptoms, but education can reach deep into our heart, which is far more effective to set the society on the right course. So, education is the fundamental solution. Although I am an educator, I am marching toward the same goal as a lawyer and there is no need to feel disappointed."

"In the face of our (KMT) unprecedented, crushing defeat (in 2014 Republic of China local and municipal election), we have no time for a power struggle."

"People who died could not come back to life, so guaranteeing the right to life should not be a thing of the future, but should be advancing right now."

"I will not hesitate to even sell my house. It (Kuomintang) is my party and I will save it myself."

"This (KMT) party can forsake me, but I will not abandon this party."

"I am accused of deviating from mainstream public opinion simply because I told the truth. Is this really the case?"

"People should remember history so they can truly cherish what they have now."

"Since I'm shouldering this commitment, I will do it with courage and without fear. Being the president of the Republic of China is no simple task."

"With a woman's selflessness and kindness, I look to end populism and political wrangling between the blue and green camps in the coming (2016 ROC) presidential election against Tsai (Ing-wen)."

"If I win (2016 ROC presidential election), I will promote peace development across the Taiwan Strait and let people enjoy the benefits."

"The silent annexation is ongoing. The Democratic Progressive Party’s loss of power might be tolerable, but the loss of sovereignty in our time would be an irreversible mistake that would jeopardize future generations."

"We should never have a doubt about Taiwan's independent status. Taiwan has been an independent and sovereign country since 23 March 1996, the day of its first direct presidential election."

"Taiwan does not oppose that there is only one China in the world, but that does not mean Taiwan is part of China."