Spearheading a campaign to promote his party's candidates for the year-end elections, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday touted the benefits that the five special municipalities would enjoy following the recent signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China.
“We've done a lot of work since taking office, including signing the ECFA. The ECFA will raise Taiwan's international competitiveness, and the pact will benefit not only the five municipalities, but all the cities and counties,” Ma said in his capacity as the KMT chairman, as he presided over a meeting with local government heads and government officials.
Chanting slogans hand-in-hand with the five KMT candidates, Ma said the central and local governments should enhance communication to improve government performance and efficiency and attract greater support in the Nov. 27 elections.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The five candidates — Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Sinbei candidate and former vice premier Eric Chu (朱立倫), Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), Greater Tainan candidate and former legislator Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財), and Greater Kaohsiung candidate KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) — each showed a blanket full of products that they said would help boost their cities' economy via the ECFA. They also pledged to promote the ECFA as part of their election campaign.
“The ECFA will be a boost for Taipei City's economic development ... Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has labeled the ECFA a political issue. He does not understand the benefits that the ECFA will bring Taipei economically,” Hau said.
Chu, joining Hau in accusing the DPP of “blindly opposing” the ECFA and cross-strait exchanges, vowed to develop Sinbei into a base for cross-strait economic and trade cooperation.
Acknowledging the tough fight it faces in the Nov. 27 elections, the KMT yesterday revived the practice of meeting with local government heads that was suspended a year ago. Ma initiated the meetings in 2006 when he doubled as the KMT chairman and Taipei mayor.
Ma yesterday said he expected the meetings to boost party unity and improve communication and cooperation between different local governments.
Lin Yi-shih (林益世), director of the KMT's policy commission, said the meeting would be held every two months, starting with the five special municipalities, to boost support for the candidates.
Ma is expected to lead party officials in visiting different cities and counties to hold the meetings.
While urging party officials and candidates to promote the ECFA, Ma also called on local government heads and agencies to be prepared for the typhoon season and address flooding problems to prevent natural disasters.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the government had completed the construction of housing units in Kaohsiung for victims of Typhoon Morakot, which inflicted serious damage in central and southern Taiwan last year.
He added that the Cabinet would step up efforts to strengthen preventive measures with the approach of the typhoon season.
Also See: ECFA sent for legislative approval
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