Reaction to yesterday's victory in the presidential election by the DPP's Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a mixture of elation, caution and warnings, with opponents blaming both unpredictable voter behavior and President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) himself for the upset that will end more than five decades of power for the KMT.
While congratulating Chen yesterday, his rivals also responded by expressing their own expectations as to how the president-elect would direct the country toward a better future.
"Faced with the intricate current situation, I hope you will lead Taiwan into a new phase with an open mind and new way of thinking,"said vice president and KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰), who came in third in the election with just 23 percent of the popular vote.
In a concession speech last night, Lien said he respected the results of the election as an expression of the people's will, adding that the smooth process of the election marked another watershed in Taiwan's democratic development.
Meanwhile KMT officials said that tactical voting, the so-called "dump Lien, save Soong"and "dump Lien, save Chen"effects, were mainly responsible for the KMT's election debacle.
KMT Secretary-general Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) announced his resignation over the party's failure in the campaign.
Independent candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), who broke away from the KMT to run in the race and won more than 36 percent of the votes, also pledged support for the new DPP-led government.
"The most urgent task now is to support the new government with foresight,"Soong said.
Independent candidate Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), who won a mere 0.6 percent of the vote, said he hoped Chen would prioritize cross-strait issues and boost public confidence in Taiwan's economy.
Officials from the New Party, which won only 0.1 percent of the vote yesterday, said they believed Chen's victory to a certain extent reflected the 'anti-China' complex of the Taiwanese.
"The intimidating statements from ... Chinese premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) triggered voters' negative emotions, and they voted for Chen,"said Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), leader of the New Party's caucus at the Legislative Yuan.
Beijing, which repeatedly warned Taiwan voters against supporting a pro-independence candidate in the run up to the poll, issued only a brief reaction last night, saying the poll results did not change the island's status as part of China.
Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, as saying: "Taiwan's local leadership election and its results cannot change the fact that Taiwan is a part of China's territory."
It did not mention poll victor Chen Shui-bian by name.
Ma Lik, meanwhile, a Hong Kong deputy to China's National People's Congress, said Beijing will watch Chen's actions before taking the next step.
"Beijing will not declare war, not yet,"Ma said. "He [Chen] must persuade Beijing that he will not declare Taiwan independent and that he wants to improve their relationship."
Affirming the military's resolve to safeguard Taiwan's security, Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) pledged loyalty to the new president on behalf of the armed forces immediately after Chen's victory.
"According to article 138 of the constitution, the armed forces should be loyal to the country and protect the people. And article 36 stipulates that the president is the supreme commander of the armed forces,"Tang said.
In light of China's strong suspicion of the DPP's wish to promote independence for Taiwan, easing cross-strait tensions is widely believed to be one of Chen's biggest challenges.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS