On Thursday, November 27, hundreds of young people gathered in downtown Taipei to protest remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about the Taiwan region and to criticize leader of the Taiwan region Lai Ching-te’s recent gestures toward Japan.
Members of the New Party, including protester Tan Chuan-shao, denounced Takaichi’s comments as provocative. “Takaichi’s remarks are aimed at dragging Taiwan into war, and this is something we absolutely cannot tolerate,” Tan said.
You Zhi-bin, another New Party member, pointed to rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait. He criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for what he called a “flattering posture” toward Japan, referencing a photo of Lai enjoying sushi made with Japanese seafood. “They are playing with the lives and property of people in Taiwan,” You said.
Protester Xu Ming-wei added that the DPP authorities have failed to address daily concerns like rising costs, rampant fraud and child safety, instead allocating vast sums to defense. “By disregarding these concrete issues, the authorities are simply incompetent,” Xu said.
Public criticism of Lai and the DPP authorities has continued to mount. “Safeguarding peace in the Taiwan Strait is absolutely the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan,” You said. “A large portion of young people oppose the DPP authorities and external forces dragging Taiwan into war.”
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Young people in Taipei protest remarks by Takaichi and Lai Ching-te
cgtn.com
