There was no direct link between the so-called “1992 consensus” and the outcome of the Jan. 14 presidential election, but cross-strait issues remained a decisive factor in the election, sources said of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) preliminary post-election review.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won re-election with 6,891,139 votes, while DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won 6,093,578 votes and People First Party (PFP) candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) 369,588.
The poll generated speculation within the DPP that Tsai’s loss may have resulted from joint efforts between Ma and China to use the “1992 consensus” as basis for stable cross-strait development, while Tsai’s lack of elaboration on the proposed “Taiwan consensus” confused voters.
However, the DPP’s preliminary report suggests that no such link could be established between the “1992 consensus” and the party’s failed bid, sources said.
The DPP has made a list of 20 factors that could have contributed to its failure in the election. Among them was the return of about 200,000 China-based businesspeople to Taiwan to vote, China’s acquisition of Taiwanese agricultural and aquatic products and vote-buying.
DPP spokesperson Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said several factors may have contributed to the outcome, as opposed to a single one.
The preliminary post-election report will be submitted during the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting tomorrow.
The DPP has invited committee members along with mayors and commissioners of DPP-governed special municipalities and counties to attend the meeting.
Three of the DPP’s heavyweights were not on the invitation list — former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former premier Yu Shyi-kun .
Only former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) will attend the meeting as a member of the committee.
Commenting on the arrangement, Yu’s office director, Super Meng (孟義超), said he was baffled to see the party hold a post-election review meeting that excluded Yu, who served as chief supervisor of Tsai’s campaign, as well as Su, Tsai’s campaign director.
Su’s office said it respected the decision, while Lu’s office said it did not receive any call from the party inviting Lu to the meeting.
In response, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said since it’s a committee meeting, only members have been invited to the meeting tomorrow.
He added that mayors and county commissioners were also invited because they had been at the forefront of Tsai’s campaign.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, staff writer
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