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Presidential election 2008: 21 days to go: Hsieh, Ma square off in CEC's campaign forum

The first of four Central Election Commission (CEC)-organized campaign forums for the two rival presidential tickets took place last night, with Public Television Service (PTS) providing a live broadcast of the event.

The forum presented an opportunity for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to expound on their policy platforms and visions in two 15-minute shifts each.

The forum began with the two candidates drawing lots to determine who should deliver a 15-minute policy speech first.

CEC Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天佑) said earlier yesterday that it was the first time a presidential candidate had been given the opportunity to deliver two rounds of policy presentation in a campaign forum organized by the CEC.

The forum was moderated by Lai Hau-min (賴浩敏), a CEC commissioner.

Only the two candidates and CEC staff were allowed to enter the film studio during the broadcast, Teng said.

Each candidate was entitled to be accompanied by up to five aides, who had to stay in the waiting room during the speeches.

TWM Solution, a Taiwan Mobile offshoot, also provided a simultaneous Webcast of the forum at www.peopo.org.

The second CEC-organized televised forum is scheduled for next Friday and will be broadcast live on Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV).

The third, scheduled for March 10, will be reserved for the two vice presidential candidates -- the DPP's Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and the KMT's Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) -- who will also present their policy initiatives and visions, with China Television Co (CTV) providing the live broadcast.

The final forum for the presidential candidates is scheduled for March 14, with Chinese Television System (CTS) responsible for the live broadcast.
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