Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers differed widely in their reaction to the CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets’ latest report, which predicted that the 2012 presidential election was the “KMT's to lose.”
The Hong Kong-based firm released a report on Tuesday titled The KMT as its own worst enemy, which said that while Ma was heading in the right direction by adopting China-leaning policies, the KMT could still lose the next presidential election because of “self-inflicted” wounds.
CLSA senior analyst Bruce Warden said in the report that the KMT’s record of administrative achievements was poor and it appeared to be insensitive to public opinion.
The image of Ma’s administration suffered many setbacks because of several recent events, including its inadequate response to the flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in August, Warden said, adding that the DPP was catching up to the KMT, which would be the greatest threat for Ma and the KMT.
KMT legislators shrugged off the report, with KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) saying it was simply an evaluation by a foreign company. It might not fully understand Taiwan’s political scene, he said.
“It is impossible for the company to know what may happen in 2012. The company is not God,” Lu said.
KMT Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) questioned the objectivity of the report, saying it was too early for anyone to jump to the conclusion that Ma would lose if he ran for re-election.
DPP lawmakers, however, said the report showed Ma needs to have a “clear change of direction” in his policies and take into account public concerns over the economic cooperation framework pact with China the government plans to sign before June.
“If the KMT continues its current policies, which includes secret negotiations [with China], it’s not only Ma’s term that will end in 2012, but the entire nation will be finished by then,” DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said.
DPP caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said Ma’s inability to clearly communicate his policies and address public concerns over them were some of the reasons behind CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets’ findings.
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said that previous predictions by the brokerage and investment group turned out to be correct, including its prediction that then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would win his reelection bid in the 2004.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS