“It’s a relationship that needs careful management. We do not have any fundamental differences that cannot be resolved,” Tsai said.
Answering other questions, Tsai said that Taiwan’s judicial system was outdated and needed a major overhaul.
Prosecutors, she said, had too much discretionary power and were not well versed in the importance of human rights and impartiality.
There wsere so many cases in which DPP members had been investigated, she said, that it was impossible not to wonder if they were being subjected to a legal and political purge.
The relationship with China, she said, would be managed under a DPP government with “calculated prudence,” and with sophistication and patience.
Asked to explain her relationship with Chen, Tsai said: “My personal relationship with him is something that happened in the past. What has happened in the past is in the past.”
But, she added, it was important that Chen was dealt with fairly and that his human rights were respected.
“What we see evolving at the moment in our government is a new strategic approach that stakes Taiwan’s future in Beijing. In all his eagerness to integrate with China, Ma has done less to strengthen our ties with other partners. The absence of a broader policy toward the US beyond the declaration that ‘I am not a troublemaker’ and the existence of tensions with Japan reflect an increasing reliance on China as a gateway to the world,” Tsai said.
“Our greatest worry is that in the process of engaging with China, Taiwan’s democracy is actually becoming more vulnerable to Chinese influence,” she said. “That is why on May 17 we plan to hold a large rally, followed by a 24-hour sit-in, to voice our position in a way that can no longer be ignored by the government.”
Asked later if she was prepared to defy government orders and be arrested during the sit-in, she said: “It is not important if I am arrested. I do not matter personally. This is for Taiwanese democracy.”
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