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Presidential election 2008: 6 days to go: Ma, Hsieh attempt to woo young voters

The two presidential candidates presented their platform of government in an attempt to woo 1 million young voters who will have turned 20 and be eligible to vote for the first time in a presidential election on Saturday.

During a televised policy presentation sponsored by the Central Election Commission on Friday night, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) urged first-time voters to visit the Web sites of both candidates to compare which one offers more substantive policies.

Arguing that college students are troubled by high tuition fees and many have to spend a lot of time repaying student loans after graduation, Ma vowed to lessen their burden so that they could focus on more forward-looking issues and "catapult Taiwan's youth onto the world stage."

He promised to increase budget allocation to encourage young people to do volunteer work and empower universities to become centers to nurture youths.

He pledged to set up a NT$10 billion (US$326.8 million) fund for young adults to start their own business, send 10,000 students overseas to study and invite 20,000 foreign students to study in Taiwan.

He also unveiled a proposal to ease the financial burden of young people so "they can get married and start families with ease."

Noting the importance of education, Ma pledged to raise the budget for education from the present 4.4 percent of GDP to 6 percent, or NT$700 billion, if elected.

Ma said he would push for free vocational education, focus resources on specific universities according to their special characteristics, and rigorously monitor their quality.

Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said he would encourage youngsters to pursue their dreams and ideals, saying "this is the government's responsibility."

He said he would promote construction of housing complexes for lease to young adults, instead of providing loans to buy houses as Ma proposes, as it would only benefit a "few people since a majority of the public simply can't afford to buy a house."

Hsieh said he would also provide youths with performance venues to encourage them to take part in international cultural and other activities for free to broaden their horizons.

Unlike his rival, Hsieh said that "giving importance to young people is not just empty words," as he had recruited young talent during his service in various public posts.
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