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DPP legislator criticizes Ma following KMT participation at Xiamen forum

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) yesterday attacked Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who he said was running for the position of chief executive rather than president of the nation.

Wang's attack came after KMT members participated in a Hakka summit in Xiamen, Fujian Province, earlier this month, where they allegedly asked Chinese citizens to support Ma.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) reported yesterday that veteran KMT member Yao Eng-chi (饒穎奇), also the head of Ma's supporters' club, led a group of 150 Hakka and business leaders to the forum.

The report quoted Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中), who said one of delegates was heard saying: "Any cross-strait issues can be negotiable as long as Ma becomes the leader of Taiwan."

"He [Ma] is running in the Chinese communists' election, not ours," Wang said.

The KMT, however, dismissed the allegation.

When asked for comment, KMT Legislator Liu Sheng-liang (劉盛良), who attended the forum, said the presidential election had not been discussed.

Liu said the forum included an assembly on Sept. 28, in which Hakka delegates from Taiwan and China exchanged opinions on promoting Hakka culture and increasing exchanges between Hakka businesspeople from the two countries.

The Southern Taiwan Society criticized Ma, saying that he owed the Taiwanese public an explanation and that KMT politicians repeatedly claim in public that they will protect the Republic of China (ROC), but are willing to attend this forum and shake hands with Chinese officials who do not recognize the ROC.

If the KMT is not willing to face China's oppression, Ma's claim that he loves Taiwan and his show of visiting blue-collar families are just campaign ploys, the statement said.
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