The political drama revolving around the proposed pairing up of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) finally came to an end on Thursday after Wang said no to a "Ma-Wang ticket."
While Ma expressed disappointment at Wang's refusal, analysts were not surprised.
They added that Wang's decision might not be much of a setback for Ma if he managed to find a running mate capable of boosting his support ratings.
"[Ma's] priority right now should be choosing a running mate who would complement him. He should show more imagination, be creative and find a refreshing and inspiring person," said Chen I-shen (
Although Wang met the requirements which Ma set for his ideal running mate, namely being an ethnic Taiwanese with a support base in the south, Chen said that Wang's support rate among pan-blue supporters was questionable after his embarrassing loss to Ma in the KMT's chairmanship election, while his image as a shrewd politician would not be a bonus to Ma.
Yang Tai-shun (
"Wang would never have been able to boost Ma's reputation as his running mate. The failure of the `Ma-Wang ticket' should not be seen as a disappointment, as Ma can now start looking for a new person to raise his support rate," Yang said.
The KMT nominated Ma as the party's presidential candidate on May 2, and Ma formally offered Wang the opportunity to run on the vice presidential ticket on May 9.
Wang declined to respond to Ma's offer until Thursday, when he finally announced after a closed-door meeting with the presidential candidate that he would not take up the invitation.
Ma insisted that Wang had been his "one and only" choice and that he hadn't devoted any effort to searching for other possible candidates, but it is possible that Ma could consider an ethnic Taiwanese woman such as Chiayi Mayor Huang Ming-hui (黃敏惠) or KMT Legislator Lee Chi-chu (李紀珠) as running mate.
Ethnic Taiwanese with good reputations in the business industry or academics, such as Jason Lin (
Ma yesterday refused to comment on who he might consider as running mate, but said he hoped to find someone who would complement him and help him win the presidential election.
Although it is likely that Ma will pick a candidate from the south to complement his elite Mainlander background, Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a professor at Tamkang University, said that Ma should not ignore Wang's support base in the south.
"It takes more than speaking Taiwanese, adding Taiwan-centered values to party regulations and selecting an ethnic Taiwanese as a running mate to be considered localized," Shih said.
In addition to choosing a running mate, analysts said Ma should continue to maintain a cooperative relationship with Wang, rather than making him a rival in his pursuit of the presidency.
"The pan-green camp may successfully draw Wang to its side if Ma does not deal with their already problematic relationship," Shih said.
Wang promised to cooperate with Ma in pushing for KMT victory in both the legislative and presidential elections, but acknowledged that he and Ma were still divided on many issues, including campaign platforms, future policies and goals, as well as the KMT's assets problem.
"It is doubtful that Wang will stay in the legislature to cooperate with Ma. Ma should be careful in case Wang tries to raise his bargaining chips with the pan-green camp after strengthening his influence in the legislature," Yang said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard