Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials yesterday acknowledged that concern was growing among KMT supporters about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) chances of re-election.
Presidential national policy adviser Chen Ting-yun (陳釘雲) said he has heard of such worries among KMT supporters, adding that the controversy over Ma’s recent proposals of a cross-strait peace accord and small raises in monthly subsidies for elderly farmers is seen as harmful to Ma’s electoral outlook.
He was referring to Ma’s controversial proposal last month that his government would “cautiously consider” whether the nation should sign a peace agreement with China within the next decade, and the Cabinet’s proposed small increase in the monthly subsidies for elderly farmers from NT$6,000 to NT$6,316.
Despite Chen’s estimates last month that Ma would be able to lead Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by 300,000 to 500,000 votes in the election, Chen yesterday said that if nothing was done to contain the damage over the subsidy and cross-strait peace agreement issues, “it is going to go bad for Ma.”
Other KMT officials said that Ma’s proposed cross-strait peace accord has caused a backlash on Ma’s campaign efforts, adding that some pan-blue supporters who are pro-localization have said that they could not accept Ma’s proposal.
The rashness of his proposal has some KMT supporters worried that Taiwan would hold political negotiations with China too soon, several party officials said, adding that the rashness of the proposal was also directly to blame for Ma backtracking on his statements.
Chen said that in the past, the farmland irrigation associations usually backed the KMT, but seeing as there was a support group for Tsai founded by the Chia-Nan Water Resources Association last month, the DPP have started to compete with the KMT for the support of the sector.
The elderly farmers’ subsidy issue further shook the confidence of the sector in the KMT, Chen said, adding that these are all changing factors that must be closely watched.
KMT honorary chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) has also recently made public warnings that Ma’s re-election campaign is “getting tight,” with the DPP closing the gap between Tsai and Ma.
Tsai’s campaign tour along Provincial Highway No. 1 last month and the “three little pigs” campaign have all contributed to soaring support and passion for the DPP, KMT officials said.
Translated by Jake Chung
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS