Kuomintang Chairman and presidential candidate Eric Chu has told representatives of foreign missions in Taiwan that if the KMT remains as the ruling party after the January 16 presidential election, Taiwan will continue its role as a peacemaker rather than a troublemaker in the region.

Chu made the comment during a KMT diplomatic reception in Taipei on December 14, through which he expressed the governing party’s appreciation for the firm support and friendships made by countries represented by the envoys.

He admitted that the KMT faces all kinds of challenges in the upcoming elections, but as head of the party, it is his obligation and responsibility to cope with the challenges. He said if his party wins the elections, it will keep its policy of having a “very stable and peaceful relationship with the mainland.”

Chu said in his meeting with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, he told Xi the KMT would continue to pursue peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait based on the “1992 Consensus” -- similar to what President Ma Ying-jeou said to Xi during their landmark meeting in Singapore on November 7.

Chu said he also told Xi further cross-strait cooperation should be the focus of cross-strait relationship for the next generation.

He called for stronger support from the United States, Japan and other countries for Taiwan’s accession to such free trade pacts as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership agreements so that Taiwan could become a free economic island. But to do this, Taiwan must reform its parliament or legislature to greatly improve its efficiency and authorization procedures, he said.