Lien plays stability card, avoids cross-strait relations

KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) said the stability of his party and his years of experience in office were the best reasons to vote for him and running mate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).

"Only leadership which has a deep understanding of the complexity of the issues should lead the nation," said Lien, the first speaker in last night's broadcast.

Cross-strait relations were conspicuously absent from Lien's speech.

When asked by foreign journalists following the speech whether there was any difference between his stance and President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) on relations with China, Lien said, "special state-to-state is the consistent stance of Taiwan." KMT campaign manager Jason Hu (胡志強) then intervened, asking reporters to focus on the issues raised during Lien's speech.

Lien offered a moderate platform of reform based on making Taiwan a more "caring" society.

"If a society lacks care, security, justice or democratic values then it doesn't have any meaning. It would be like a structure built on sand -- it could topple at any time. ... Now that we've democratized and developed economically, we're still missing a few important things," he said.

Lien also refrained from directly attacking his competitors.

Instead, he spoke of reducing crime, strengthening the family, improving the social welfare system and modernizing the medical system as the formulas for his more caring society.

The government should crack down on violent criminals and repeat offenders by using stiffer penalties, stricter law enforcement and keeping convicts far from the public, he said.

Lien also advocated closer cooperation between police and the public as a solution to crime. Community patrols -- based on a model introduced in a Kaohsiung neighborhood -- should be instituted all over Taiwan within two years as it drastically reduced neighborhood crime, he said.

Regarding family values, the vice president said that "as our society changes, the structure and function of the family have also undergone dramatic changes."

He also promised that if elected, the Central Bank of China would provide NT$100 billion in low-interest mortgages for first-time homebuyers.

The government should also recognize the special responsibilities involved where parents, grandparents and children share the same house, he said.

The national pension program -- originally slated for introduction this year but postponed because of the 921 earthquake -- should be in place before the end of 2001, Lien said.