With the presidential election three days away, droves of Taiwanese businesspeople based in China have started arriving at the CKS International Airport. The number of arrivals is expected to be significantly higher than for the previous election four years ago.
"Tens of thousands of China-based Taiwanese businessmen will be coming home to vote during the next few days," said Chang Han-wen (
Chang, who is also the general manager of the pan-blue camp's election liaison offices in China, said the businesspeople's votes would "greatly boost" the chances of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his running mate, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
KMT Legislators John Chang (
The welcoming committee displayed the Lien-Soong alliance's campaign banners at the airport, and cheered when the returning businessmen appeared with matching pan-blue flags and shouting campaign slogans.
The businessmen displayed a list of about 60 signatures of Taiwanese business leaders based in China who said they support the Lien-Soong ticket, and that they wished cross-strait relations could be stabilized to facilitate the implementation of direct links -- transportation, trade and postal service -- between China and Taiwan.
According to Chang Han-wen, the oldest member of this group of returning businessmen is an 86-year-old man.
The number of China-based businesspeople returning home for the presidential election four years ago was estimated at less than 10,000. This year, however, a "Love and Peace Initiative" organized by Shanghai-based Taiwanese businessman Eric Teng (鄧文聰) alone recruited about 150,000 business-people to vote.
Teng, who flew from Shanghai to Taipei via Macau with more than 100 businesspeople late Tuesday night, said businesspeople who had signed up for his election drive will start arriving in Taipei today.
Teng emphasized that his initiative was not geared towards support for a specific political camp.
"They simply hope the future president can pay more attention to China-based Taiwanese businessmen," he said.
He said businesspeople hope the direct links can be imple-mented as soon as possible.
"If we had direct links, we would not have to fly from Shanghai to Taipei via Macau," Teng said.
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