The definition of Taiwan's national status was the issue at the center of yesterday's historical televised presidential election debate between President Chen Shui-bian (
Lien's comment that Taiwan should "shelve its sovereignty dispute with China" to achieve peace in the Taiwan Strait and facilitate cross-strait trade drew fire from Chen, who questioned Lien's capacity to rule Taiwan without having a clear notion of the country's status.
Chen, a lawyer-turned-politician, was widely expected to take the upper hand in the debate, and according to Dennis Peng (彭文正), associate professor at the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University, this is exactly what happened.
But both Chen and Lien bent the debating rules by evading direct answers to the other's questions, Peng said.
"Chen tried to pose as a fighter who would never give up, even in the worst circumstances. Lien was speaking as if he were expecting to be the country's next leader, who can achieve results without elaborate efforts," said Ku Chung-hwa (
Lien challenged Chen with tough questions about contentious issues like the disputed education reform program, the economic slowdown and international criticism of the referendum.
"Chen was on the defensive side, but he did not miss any opportunity to attack Lien," Ku said.
Chen called Lien "a man without opinions" because of his evasive attitude to define Taiwan's national status. "How can a leader of a country ignore his country's sovereignty problem?" Chen asked.
"Can Lien avoid a dispute over Taiwan's sovereignty if China asks the country to accept its `one China' principle? Will China accept Lien's interpretation that the only China in the world is `the Republic of China'?" Ku asked, adding that Chen and Lien were unable to express themselves fully because of time limitations.
TV polls on the two candidates' performance showed mixed results.
"The debate was unlikely to effectively swing the way people will vote, but it did give them a clearer idea of how Chen and Lien differ in their cross-strait, social care and labor policies," Ku said.
Both candidates seemed to believe their electability depended heavily on their personality, and had a lot to say about the characteristics of "a real leader."
Lien said that stability was one of the laudable parts of his personality. He criticized Chen's policy-making style for being "changeable."
Chen replied that he never cowers in the face of difficulty and hinted that Lien was the inconsistent one. "My love for my wife never changes and I would never hit her," Chen said, apparently alluding to the rumor that Lien had once slapped his wife's face.
The KMT-People First Party (PFP) alliance held a news conference immediately after the debate. Lien said he was satisfied with his performance. "But I am disappointed that Chen launched personal attacks on me," he said.
Declining to say what he thought about Chen's performance, Lien said the overall debate had somewhat lost focus, because the issues they were given to discuss were too wide-ranging.
Chen, accompanied by senior Cabinet and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials, also held a news conference shortly after the pan-blue camp's had finished.
Unlike Lien, Chen did not have a question-and-answer session with reporters, saying "I have said what I had to say in the debate. Happy Valentine's Day everybody."
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