Taiwan's leading shipping tycoon, who endorsed President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yesterday's statement by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa (
PHOTO: LIU LI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang stopped short of naming his preferred candidate, but left little room for doubt when he called on voters to support the candidate who promised better ties with arch-foe China.
The main issue dividing the contenders is their policy towards China, with incumbent Chen espousing a policy that sees Taiwan as independent while Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan (
"Which presidential candidate can bring us a life of peace, stability, prosperity, and well-being? The answer should be fairly clear," Chang said in a statement.
"The ideal candidate must ... be able to build a peaceful, stable and harmonious cross-Strait relationship in order to lead us to re-create Taiwan's economic miracle," Chang said.
Chang was a member of an advisory panel to Chen led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
In an eleventh-hour show of support, Lee, the 1986 Nobel winner in chemistry, backed Chen for the second time in a row but tempered his move with reservations about Chen's first term.
Chang said he had met Wang Yung-ching (
Chang, who has set his sights on the vast China market, turned down an offer to be a senior adviser to Chen in 2002.
Businessmen such as tycoons Chang and Wang have been clamoring for the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct sea and air links with the China to save time and reduce costs.
Despite testy political ties, Taiwan investors have poured more than US$100 billion into China since detente first began in the late 1980s, lured by low land and labor costs as well as a common language and culture.
The Evergreen Group consists of Evergreen Marine, the world's third largest shipping line, EVA Airways and Uniglory Marine. It has set up offices in a dozen Chinese cities and invested heavily in joint ventures in China.
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