Sat, Sep 24, 2011 page3

• Ma’s campaign to focus on the economy: King

  ‘GOLDEN DECADE’ The president’s re-election campaign director said the KMT would continue efforts to try to cooperate with the PFP and avoid a pan-blue split

  • By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
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  Economic development and cross-strait policies will be top issues in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign, as the president seeks to assure voters of his ability to continue leading the nation forward with his policies, Ma’s campaign director King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said yesterday.

  In an interview with the -Chinese-language United Evening News, King said the campaign team would focus on promoting Ma’s economic and cross-strait policies, which are crucial to reviving the nation’s economy and improving the lives of the people, in addition to presenting the “golden decade policies.”

  “People care about how to make their lives better, and recent data show that our economy is recovering. The economy will remain the most important issue in the election campaign, and cross-strait relations play a key role in the nation’s economic development,” he said.

  

  President Ma Ying-jeou claps at an event held yesterday to support a team of Taiwanese who are to take part in the seven-day, 250km Sahara Race in Egypt. During the race, which starts on Oct. 2 and ends on Oct. 8, team members will take turns carrying a 17kg statue of a folk deity called Santaizi, or the Third Prince.

  Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

  Ma is facing a neck-and-neck battle against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), especially after the likely presidential bid of People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).

  Soong launched a petition drive on Thursday aimed at collecting 1 million signatures by Oct. 31. He vowed to join the presidential election if the petition attracts 1 million signatures.

  King yesterday declined to comment on growing concerns about a pan-blue split amid Soong’s presidential bid, but said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) continued to seek cooperation with the PFP in the legislative election.

  “As long as there is any chance, we will not give up on KMT-PFP cooperation during the legislative election. We need to prevent the DPP from benefiting from a split in the pan-blue camp,” he said.

  Stepping up campaign efforts, Ma’s campaign team is to set up its central office in Greater -Taichung today and Ma and his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), are to attend the launch ceremony to help boost their support in central Taiwan.

  The KMT plans to set up its national campaign headquarters for the Ma-Wu ticket next month. Top party officials, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and former KMT chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), are to join the campaign team to boost support for Ma.

  King said the campaign team would work to resolve problematic relations between different local factions in Taichung, while continuing in its efforts to consolidate support in southern Taiwan.

  Commenting on his planned trip to Japan next month, King said his visit to Japan would not overlap with Tsai’s visit to the country early next month, brushing aside concerns that he would use the opportunity to campaign against Tsai, which the DPP said he was doing during his trip to the US earlier this month.

  “The DPP should not be too nervous about my trip. I will visit Japan after Chairperson Tsai has returned. We will promote the government’s cross-strait policies in Japan and solicit support from overseas Taiwanese,” he said.

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