The three presidential candidates are gearing up for televised debates that are scheduled for Sunday and Jan. 2.
“I will seek to truthfully present my campaign platforms and thoughts at the scheduled debate. Every issue concerning Taiwanese will be my focus, rather than just economy and cross-strait ties,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) said at his campaign headquarters in Taipei.
He said that unlike Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), the televised presidential debate on Sunday would be his first.
Tsai, who according to recent polls is leading the race, said she has been preparing for the debates for weeks.
“Although televised debates and political performances are not my strong points, I will work hard to thoroughly present all the policies,” she wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
Soong on Saturday said that he would not argue during the debates, but offer people a vision and direction by explaining why he decided to run.
Soong, who is running for president for the third time since 2000, said he is ready and hopes to help Taiwanese restore their self-confidence.
Aside from the two presidential debates, the vice presidential candidates debate is scheduled Saturday by nine media outlets, including the Central News Agency, Public Television Service and four Chinese-language dailies — the Liberty Times, (sister paper of the Taipei Times) Apple Daily, the United Daily News and the China Times.
The other media sponsors include Sanlih E-Televison (SET-TV), Google and Watchout Company, a government monitoring Web site.
The presidential elections and the legislative elections are scheduled on Jan. 16.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
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