Greater Kaohsiung, Chiayi — cities little known outside Taiwan, but in Saturday’s presidential election, they could hand victory to an opposition candidate expected to cool relations with China.
The cities are in the south, where Taiwanese are traditionally wary of China’s embrace and where many are pinning their hopes on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is aiming to become Taiwan’s first female head of state.
“Little Ing elected,” hundreds of people chanted on Sunday in Greater Tainan, affectionately using Tsai’s nickname as they caught a glimpse of her passing by in an open-top jeep.
Photo: PATRICK LIN, AFP
Morale is high among Tsai’s followers, who believe she has a real chance of regaining power for the DPP, which lost to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) four years ago.
Relations between China and Taiwan have improved since Ma took office on a Beijing-friendly platform, allowing in more Chinese tourists and signing an important trade pact.
Ma is running for a second and final term, arguing that he can maintain prosperity in Taiwan through stable cross-strait ties, although some voters appear unconvinced.
“I don’t like China as it often bullies Taiwan and looks down on us,” 22-year-old student Liu Chia-wen said as she took part in a major rally for Tsai in Greater Kaohsiung. “I think Ma is leaning too much toward China and he hasn’t done enough to uphold Taiwan’s sovereignty.”
Tsai has given few details about where she would take Taiwan’s China policy if elected and Beijing has been careful not to explicitly warn against her, fearing it could boost her support.
However, there is little doubt China would prefer four more years of Ma rather than a return of the DPP.
In a veiled reference to the DPP’s track record, a spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said last month that insisting on Taiwanese independence will “harm the peaceful development of relations.”
Southern voters are concerned Taiwan has become too reliant on Beijing during Ma’s term and dubious over the supposed benefits of closer ties.
“We southerners are rooting for a Tsai victory,” said Wu Jia-chi, a mother of two who runs a restaurant in Chiayi County.
“I don’t think we should open too much to China, which will want to have more control of Taiwan and eventually turn us into a second Hong Kong,” she said, referring to the territory where British rule ended in 1997.
Interviews with voters in the south lay bare the unease that remains to this day.
Huang Li-chin, a rice distributor from a farming family in Tainan, criticized Beijing for “trying to buy its way into Taiwan people’s hearts” while refusing to remove missiles targeting Taiwan.
“Taiwan may be small and weak and China may be rich and powerful, but we want to be our own masters and we don’t want to become a province of China,” she said.
Huang is among those dismayed by a 2008 incident when police prevented demonstrators from displaying Taiwan’s national flag during a visit by a top Chinese official.
“If we don’t have any dignity, it won’t matter how much more money we can make from trade deals with China,” she said.
Tsai has sought to ease fears that her victory would stir up tensions, vowing to seek peace and dialogue with Beijing.
Taiwan’s young democracy has traditionally been defined by China policy, but it is a less prominent factor in these elections because of voter apathy. National polls show Ma leading Tsai by as little as 3 percentage points.
However, a recent China Times survey showed Tsai’s support in the south was running at 48 percent in Tainan, Yunlin and Chiayi, against 32 percent for Ma, reflecting the strong feelings in the region.
Shen Feng-piao, a retired businessman, said he believes China is using trade as a foil to push for its ultimate political goal of taking over Taiwan, and that it will pile pressure on Ma if he is re-elected.
“I think Tsai won’t move so fast like Ma, but she won’t be too radical. She can uphold Taiwan’s sovereignty and maintain the ‘status quo,’” he said. “No matter how big and strong China is, I want to live in a democracy and I want to elect my president.”
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS