President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promised to continue with reforms aimed at building a clean government and dismissed concerns about a lack of public recognition of government performance as he joined more than 1,000 supporters rallied by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at a campaign event.
Speaking at the founding of the Women for Ma Support Group at the Grand Hotel, Ma defended his government’s efforts to increase the number of countries granting visa-free entry to Taiwanese and combat fraud, among other policies, arguing that the public benefited from the work his administration had done.
“Could we make such achievements without resolution and ability ... I admit that I had no determination to get involved in corruption, to interfere with the judiciary or continue scorched-earth diplomacy,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Waving national flags and chanting election slogans, supporters cheered Ma and his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義). Organizer of the support group Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲), widow of former Strait Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Cheng-fu (辜振甫), also attended the event, calling for unanimous support for the KMT’s presidential ticket.
“Moderation, kindness and integrity are President Ma’s best traits, and it’s a huge misunderstanding that Ma is lacking in determination,” she said.
With January’s presidential election approaching, the KMT will speed up the establishment of support groups to strengthen the campaign efforts around the nation.
Besides Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential nominee Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Ma could also confront People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in the race, as the PFP chairman suggested earlier this month that he would join either the presidential or legislative election to boost support for the PFP.
In a poll published by TVBS on Friday, support for Ma in the presidential race is 38 percent, while 36 percent said they would vote for Tsai. Support for Soong was about 13 percent.
If Soong did not join the presidential election, support for Ma would increase to 45 percent, while support for Tsai rose to 38 percent.
Ma’s campaign office spokesman Yin Wei (殷瑋) yesterday said the poll highlighted the importance of pan-blue unity in the elections. He said the Ma camp will include every survey as references while continuing to seek support with solid performances.
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