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Lee warns of PRC's hand in polls

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) warned yesterday that the nation could fall under China's unification trap if the candidate Beijing favors were elected president next year.

"China has already chosen the candidate it prefers to win in the 2008 presidential elections," Lee said. "If he wins, Taiwan won't be able to escape their roadmap to unification."

Although Lee did not identify the candidate, it was apparent he was referring to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in his speech at a forum sponsored by the Taiwan Advocates, a local think tank.

favored candidate

Since the nation started holding direct presidential elections in 1996, Beijing has been seeking all means to get its favored candidate to win, Lee said.

"Fortunately, a growing identification with Taiwan has contained China's scheme," Lee said.

He was referring to the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) pro-localization drive and election victory in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

Lee said that "Taiwan faces destruction" if the DPP administration fails to win in next year's elections because of its poor record of governance.

DPP failure

However, he also leveled criticism against the DPP, saying it had taken advantage of the people's support for localization for electoral gains.

"Whenever there is an election, the DPP always equates itself with pro-localization," he said.

"As a result, pro-localization supporters think they have no choice but to vote for the DPP despite their misgivings," he said.

As the two major parties, the DPP and the KMT have manipulated election campaigns around the issue of independence versus unification, he said.

"Not only has the issue of public livelihoods been sacrificed in the confrontation between unification and independence, but it has also caused divisions in public opinion and disagreements on national identity," the former president said.

He warned that Beijing could use the conflict to promote its unification agenda.

new force

Lee called on the public to add a new force to the pro-localization drive so that it could contend with the DPP on livelihood issues and at the same time cooperate with the DPP in building and strengthening Taiwan-centered consciousness.
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