President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday made an impassioned plea for unity within her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
With local elections around the country on November 24, Tsai said the upcoming polls were a fight between progressive democratic values and those who would take Taiwan down a backwards route.
“It is not a battle for unification versus independence, rather a battle to protect democratic values. Facing an opponent diametrically opposed to our direction, our differences among ourselves are insignificant. If we fall into the trap of fighting each other, we give the opportunity to our opponents, who will change Taiwan’s course and all we have fought for will be reduced to ashes,” said Tsai.
Tsai said the party had previously united around causes such as deepening democracy in Taiwan and systemic reforms. She said current divisions generally centered on the speed and manner of reforms. Meanwhile, she said, the opposition camp is seeking any means to roll back what her party has achieved.
