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Presidential election: 26 days to go: Candidates queried on the economy, human rights

The economy, human rights, educational reform and cultural platforms were among the issues debated yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidates.

KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) blamed the DPP for the nation's "sluggish economy" and slow-growing incomes.

He promised to improve the lives of Taiwanese by encouraging investment and raising incomes if elected.

In response to concerns about stagflation, Ma said that his "i-Taiwan 12 projects" economic platform would boost the nation's economy through a NT$2.65 trillion (US$81 billion) government funding plan for domestic construction over the next eight years.

The construction projects, Ma said, would attract NT$1.34 trillion in private investment, adding they would boost GDP by more than NT$4 trillion over the next eight years and provide employment for 120,000 people.

Challenging DPP candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) for failing to implement policies to improve the economy during his stint as premier, Ma also promised to close the poverty gap by providing subsidies to low-income families with an annual income of less than NT$480,000.

"I am willing to make donations to close the poverty gap if I fail to carry out my policies," he said. "In fact, I have made a lot of donations to minority groups in the past."

Asked how he would tackle inflation, Hsieh proposed to cut taxes, including raising the deduction for salaried or wage-earning employees from the current NT$78,000 to NT$100,000 and that for the physically impaired from NT$77,000 to NT$100,000.

The inheritance and gift taxes must be reduced and the corporate income tax rate should be decreased from 25 percent to 17.5 percent, he said.

Another measure would be to grant amnesty to China-based Taiwanese businesspeople so that they would transfer their capital back home.

Hsieh criticized Ma for setting the economic growth at 6 percent, but not mentioning how he plans to control rising commodity prices. Ma's proposal would only make the problem worse, he said.

Saying Ma's economic policy was inconsistent, Hsieh said his rival's proposals were not well-thought-out and nothing but a "game of numbers."

While Ma proposed a "623" policy in October, Hsieh said he changed it to "633" in November and "345" in December.

Later yesterday, gay and lesbian groups condemned both presidential candidates for not promising to push for a gay marriage bill during the debate.

The two candidates were asked: "Are you willing to, and how will you push for a homosexual marriage bill?"

Both candidates responded that there should be a consensus in society first.

"It's obvious that the need for consensus in society is merely an excuse," a joint statement from 12 gay and lesbian groups said.

Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
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