Taipei Times: What is the pan-blue camp's main message in the legislative elections?
Wang Jin-pyng: The pan-blue camp's message is "Taiwan will have a way out only if we walk on the right path." This means that the pan-blue camp has to win a majority in the legislature, and with already over four years in the opposition, we will be able to supervise the government well in the next three years.
PHOTO: DEBBY WU, TAIPEI TIMES
Otherwise, the government may be able to do whatever it wants and become a dictatorship. Only by walking on the right path can we balance the administration and move forward on the road of democracy and reform.
TT: How do you respond to the DPP's message that the "pan-green majority would bring reform"?
Wang: Economy and democracy are the two best things Taiwan has and the US has been using Taiwan as a role model for democracy. Yet the US does not really understand the current essence of Taiwan's "democracy," which is actually quite problematic.
After I have talked to some American friends, they have come to understand that Taiwan is actually moving toward a dictatorship.
If Taiwan really wants to walk on the road of democracy and revolution, Taiwan needs to develop its economy, and for that we need cross-strait peace.
TT: Do you think the pan-green or pan-blue camp will win a majority in the legislature after the election, or will there be a hung legislature?
Wang: I don't know whether either side will win a majority, but at least we will do better than the pan-green camp in this election.
TT: If it comes to a hung legislature, will the pan-blue camp seek out the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union and independent lawmakers to form an opposition alliance?
Wang: We will see about that only after the election, and see what to do according to the situation after the election. It is difficult to say anything right now.
TT: Does the pan-blue merger have any effect on this election?
Wang: We [pan-blue camp as a whole] haven't been able to make a comprehensive evaluation of the election together, so the election can only be conducted in this manner now. If we all had wanted a comprehensive evaluation together, everyone should have sat down and talked. But since this did not work out, now each can only run their campaigns separately.
TT: Is the pan-blue camp operating a "dump and save" strategy the final stage of the election? (In this strategy, the party leadership "dumps"candidates that don't have a chance of winning and "saves" their stronger candidates by instructing party supporters to vote only for the stronger ones).
Wang: Now that every candidate has run his or her campaign for such a long time, it is very difficult to ask anyone to give up the election. It is not this easy to integrate the individual campaigns.
The pan-blue camp's limited-number-of-nominations strategy at the beginning was quite helpful to the campaign and the KMT has nominated very smartly this time. But it is out of our control that some still decided to run against the party's will.
TT: Will talks about the pan-blue merger resume after the election?
Wang: I don't know. The merger will depend on destiny, and it cannot be forced.
TT: What about the recent rumor that KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will announce before the election that he will step down after the election?
Wang: It is laughable that the country's leader should spread such a rumor. Just imagine what would happen if there was a rumor that A-bian (President Chen Shui-bian, 陳水扁) will decide to let (Vice President) Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) take over in 2008.
TT: After the legislative elections, the race for the legislative speakership will begin immediately. The DPP already started to attack you some time ago, and this has kicked off the race earlier than expected. Can you talk about your strategy in the race, and your opponent, DPP secretary-general Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄)?
Wang: I can only say that I hope this will be a race between gentlemen. I will not take the initiative to attack my opponent, but when I am forced to strike back, I will have my ammunition ready.
The race for the Legislative speakership should set a good example for others, and since the race is about the seats each camp controls, it is not one in which votes can be gained by attacking one's opponent.
TT: What would be the priority issues and bills for the new legislature?
Wang: It depends on what the Executive Yuan delivers to the Legislative Yuan. But the bills that should not be passed should not be passed. We have to make comprehensive considerations when it comes to national policies. For example, when it comes to the bills to decrease the unemployment rate, we will support the bills that increase domestic demand but we will not support bills that won't deliver benefits.
TT: What about the NT$610.8 billion arms deal with the US? Will there be space for further negotiation on the budget after the election?
Wang: It will take further discussions and negotiations before the budget can be passed. The KMT does not object to the deal, although we would like to cut the budget in half. Of course we want the arms purchase to maintain cross-strait peace and the balance between China and Taiwan's military forces.
TT: The president announced earlier that he would like to establish a Committee for Cross-strait Peace and Development and ask opposition leaders to get involved, and the PFP caucus also proposed in the legislature to have the legislature form a similar committee to negotiate with China. What kind of role do you think the new legislature can play in cross-strait relations?
Wang: The matter is decided by A-bian, and if he decides not to give responsibility to the legislature, no matter how hard we try we won't play a role in this.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater