Amid the current presidential election hype, the front runners dare not rest on weekends. And true to form, they once again took time yesterday to further boost the momentum of their campaigns.
KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (
Lien slammed Soong's so-called "quasi-international relationships" statement, dismissing the theory as "degrading to our [Taiwan's] status."
"Nobody understands the meaning of either the `quasi-international ties' or `mutually exclusive sovereignty' as proposed by Soong. Such rhetoric merely belittles our own status,'' Lien said.
Lien then took aim at Chen, saying that electing Chen as president would be tantamount to "requesting a ghost to heal the old cross-strait rift.''
"Chen not only advocates the formulation of a new Taiwan Constitution, but cries `Long live Taiwan independence,' too, which would only lead to cross-strait tensions. Chen appears to have guts, but there is no doubt that he lacks strategy,'' Lien said.
Lien also appealed to his supporters, saying: "We can't choose a loser like Soong or a fighting cock like Chen to be the leader. Only the KMT's diligent ticket -- Lien and Premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) -- can deliver prosperity to Taiwan."
Meanwhile, Chen used the opening of his campaign office in Taichung County to footnote President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) remarks last Saturday about the shifting of power, as he urged the KMT to transfer rule to the DPP as a way of fulfilling Lee's hopes of witnessing a peaceful transition of power.
With just a few months to go before he steps down as president, Lee recently said that he is happy to have the chance to be the first leader in modern Chinese history to hand over power while still alive.
Chen added a new twist to Lee's comments, saying: "Lee said he wished to transfer power peacefully. Another term for this is the rotation of power among parties. Only in doing so, can the Taiwanese eliminate so-called `black-gold' politics.''
Lien and Chen both took advantage of the establishment of new local campaign offices to rope in some grassroots organization leaders to boost their presidential bids. Both scored some points in this regard.
The DPP's Taichung County-elected legislator Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜), who is considered a loyal follower to former DPP chairman and independent contender Hsu Hsing-liang (許信良), vowed yesterday to put his weight behind Chen.
"I am bound to Hsu in personal affection. But back on the party business level, I must help Chen to win the office of president,'' Lin said.
In comparison with DPP officials, Lien's campaign officials said the vice president is satisfied with the support he has garnered from local factions.
"Local faction leaders, including newly-installed Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
In contrast to Lien and Chen, the two independent candidates -- Soong and Hsu -- yesterday attended a Hakka rally in Taipei County.
"If I am elected president, I will set up a Hakka affairs committee in an effort to take care of the Hakka people,'' Soong said.
Pro-Soong independent legislator Robert Hsu (
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