As next year's presidential election swings into high gear, the Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP) began pushing its own drive yesterday to gather enough signatures to register its candidate, although aides said winning was not the point.
Kicking off the drive yesterday, the party's chairman and presidential candidate Cheng Pang-cheng (
"The 2000 presidential election will be a key point in the development of the country. We have to decide at that point the direction of the country's future," Cheng said.
"We [TAIP] do not expect to win the election. But we do hope to point out a direction for the other presidential candidates, especially the three major ones, Lien Chan (
"The TAIP will play the role of a lighthouse in the lead-up to the presidential election. And I would like to serve as a harbor pilot for other presidential candidates, to ensure they navigate the right route into the harbor," he said.
"A country is also like a big ship. The Titanic sank because it went the wrong route. Its captain was very experienced, but his experience did not help to prevent the tragedy," Cheng said.
"For a national leader, experience is important, but not everything. TAIP has the ability and confidence to show the right way in the darkness of the night. And I know the right and safe route into the harbor."
Cheng continued with his harbor pilot analogy when he said, "Being a harbor pilot, I do not mean to compete with the ships that I am leading."
Cheng said he had met a lot of difficulties with his signature drive already.
"The government does not provide us [presidential candidates] with any places to collect the signatures. We have to find them by ourselves," Cheng said.
"I have paid the Central Election Committee NT$1 million as a deposit for registering as a presidential candidate. But it seems that I am paying to be a beggar."
Hsu Ching-sung (
"The signature-collecting job could have been easier for us and the public if procedures were more simplified. What sort of people always carry their name chops with them? Without the chop, the signature process is considered incomplete," Hsu said.
Despite this, Hsu said the TAIP has confidence that it will collect the required 224,000 signatures before the Jan. 7 deadline.
"We will try our best to reach the goal. Our real aim is not at the presidential election itself, but at the chances to introduce our ideals to the public during the election campaign," he said.
"Our ideals will be easier to introduce to the public and international society in general if Cheng is a legal presidential candidate able to debate with other presidential candidates about the future of Taiwan."
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