The three presidential candidates crossed swords on issues ranging from cross-strait policy, the economy and administrative competency in the second of three televised platform presentation forums last night.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chose “rectitude” as his theme, stressing that people’s trust was the most valuable government asset and corruption was the strongest corrosive of such an asset.
Ma asked why the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) proposed “10-year policy” did not contain the word “rectitude.”
Photo: Taipei Times
“Is it because rectitude is not important for Taiwan’s future, or because rectitude is, for Tsai and the DPP, a hot coal they dare not touch?” Ma asked.
Ma said the biggest difference between him and Tsai was that he met doubt and questions with clear explanations, but Tsai continued to avoid burning issues.
Tsai said that in the past four years the image of Ma in the eyes of the people had become that of a president that did not empathize with the people, and did not listen to others.
“What we carry with us is people’s expectations, not our own image,” Tsai said, alluding to her criticism of Ma that the latter only cares about his image and not the people’s problems.
Addressing the so-called “1992 consensus” issue, Tsai said that while Ma insisted on the existence of the consensus, he was also terrorizing the people of Taiwan by saying that if they did not accept the consensus all would be lost.
“Why can you not tell the people, President Ma, what price Taiwan has paid for accepting the ‘1992 consensus?’” she asked.
Tsai said she had faith in her proposed “Taiwan consensus” because it would follow a democratic procedure and would accept many opinions, which would dissolve the differences in Taiwan.
Refering to the allegation that the Ma administration has used investigation and intelligence agencies to monitor her campaign, Tsai asked Ma whether he “dare to ask the Bureau of Investigation to bring out the original documents.”
Ma stressed he has not issued a directive to monitor her nor has he received information from investigation and intelligence agencies on any surveillance of the opposition camps’ campaigns.
James Soong (宋楚瑜) of the People First Party referred to how his post-presentation news conference after the first forum was omitted by the state-run Chinese Television System (CTS), saying the attitude shown by the CTS and the Central Election Commission in handling the oversight was “typical bureaucratism.”
“It is this kind of bureaucratic attitude that makes the people want change, want to see what somebody else would do,” he said.
Pointing to the labels “corrupt” for the former DPP Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) government and “incompetent” for the current Ma administration, Soong said that nobody ever heard of the provincial team serving under him being corrupt or incompetent.
“Voters should not vote for corruption or incompetence, but for my team, which is capable of delivering on their promises,” he added.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS