Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that he was not surprised his approval rating had risen following Sunday's first presidential debate.
"Through the debate, I believe voters realize that I am consistent in my position, while Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is not," he said.
Hsieh made the remarks in response to reporters' questions concerning a poll in yesterday's Chinese-language China Times. The poll claimed the popularity of Hsieh and Ma had both increased after the debate.
The poll indicated that the popularity of Hsieh and his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) stood at 23 percent, a 1 percent increase from the last poll. The Ma-Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) ticket enjoyed a 2 percent increase at 49 percent.
Hsieh said he was "excited" to have the opportunity to counter Ma's smear campaign against his aides during the debate. Ma questioned the integrity of Hsieh's aides involved in corruption charges, asking Hsieh if he should be held responsible.
Hsieh said that Ma should see himself as the nation's first presidential candidate to be indicted for graft.
Hsieh said he did not have as much campaign funding to spend on expensive advertisements throwing mud, but during the debate he reminded the public that Ma, who was indicted for graft, kept on criticizing other people in similar situations.
Hsieh again criticized Ma's "633" economic policy, saying it will only lead to bankruptcy, inflation and tax hikes.
"The people will give Ma a blank check by electing him, but he has not clearly explained his policy," he said.
Hsieh said Ma's policy was not well thought out because Ma first proposed "623" and then changed it to "633."
Ma's proposal of investing NT$4 trillion (US$128 billion) in 12 infrastructure projects is unreasonable, Hsieh said, because each household is estimated to shoulder NT$400,000 in debt, or NT$110,000 for each individual.
Hsieh continued to press Ma on his green card status, asking Ma to apologize if evidence proves that his US permanent residency was still valid before Jan. 27.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it