The vice presidential nominees of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) indicate that the parties favor a shift toward China with business interests being a top priority, politicians on the other side of the aisle said yesterday.
The choice of Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC) chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) — New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi’s (侯友宜) running mate on the KMT ticket — represents a move away from protecting Taiwanese sovereignty and a push toward unification with China, said Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), a spokesman for the campaign office of Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate.
Jaw and other KMT politicians who have family ties to China formed their own “new KMT alliance” due to ideological differences with the party then split off to form the New Party in 1993, which advocates closer ties with China and a fast track to unification, Chen said, adding that Jaw was the New Party’s first chairman.
Photo: CNA
Jaw has declared his opposition to arms procurements and advocates following the “one China” principle, Chen said.
When the New Party marked its 30th anniversary this year, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office praised the party for its “active contribution in promoting Taiwan’s peaceful unification with the Chinese motherland,” he said.
New Power Party spokeswoman Yu Chia-chien (余佳蒨) said that TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) “clearly” chose TPP Legislator Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) as his running mate to secure financial support for his campaign.
Photo: CNA
Wu is the granddaughter of Wu Ho-su (吳火獅), who founded the Shin Kong Group in 1945. She has also served as an executive at Shin Kong Life Insurance.
He claims that he stands for “new, clean politics,” but Ko is willing to take Shin Kong’s money, even while knowing that it has been fined for speculation and questionable land deals, Yu said.
Given his choice in vice presidential candidate, “how can Ko and the TPP talk to young and underprivileged people about housing justice?” Yu asked.
Dachi Liao (廖達琪), an emeritus professor at National Sun Yat-sen University’s Graduate Institute of Political Science, said that Cynthia Wu’s lack of political experience could limit her ability to solicit votes.
Cynthia Wu was inaugurated as a TPP legislator-at-large in November last year to fill a seat left vacant by former TPP legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如), who resigned after it was discovered that she had plagiarized her master’s thesis, Liao said.
It is doubtful that her status as a member of the wealthy elite would win her much popular support, she said.
The TPP might have thought nominating someone with connections to the US would boost its presidential campaign, but experience is still important, he said.
Meanwhile, Jaw contravenes media regulations by openly supporting candidates on programs made by BCC, Liao said.
“This severely undermines media fairness in the run-up to the election,” Yu said, calling on Jaw to resign immediately as BCC chairman.
Jaw has said he would stay on as chairman, but halt his regular roles on talk shows.
Meanwhile, a top KMT official backed the Hou-Jaw ticket.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) wrote on social media that he fully endorses his party’s nominees.
Hou is a “man of vision and pragmatism, who had climbed steadily from being a police officer to being New Taipei City’s mayor,” Chiang wrote.
“Jaw was elected as legislator for Taipei, has served in ministerial positions and managed media companies, so he has a wealth of experience,” he said. “He is a good choice and I believe that the Hou-Jaw ticket can boost the Republic of China’s economic prosperity and maintain peace.”
Separately, Ko said that a meeting on Thursday with the KMT — a final attempt to form an alliance presidential ticket with the TPP — “became a farce.”
He apologized for his role in the plan, but added that KMT members entered the meeting with an intention to fight.
However, the TPP would continue to discuss cooperation with the KMT throughout the campaign and after the election, he said.
“We will take it one step at a time,” Ko added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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