The three presidential candidates yesterday clashed on cross-strait policy in a televised debate ahead of the Jan. 13 election, while defending properties they or their families own.
The world is watching the election closely, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said in his opening remarks.
“Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate [New Taipei City Mayor] Hou You-yi (侯友宜) has his pro-China policy, and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate [and Chairman] Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has a one-man party with always shifting and unpredictable policies. These are not what our nation should follow,” Lai said.
Photo: Pei Chen, AP
“If the KMT returns to power, it means the return of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, the return of large numbers of Chinese students enrolled in schools and taking up jobs. This would greatly impact young Taiwanese, and would also affect all our industries and occupations, leading to insecurity for our society,” he said.
During the debate, Hou and Ko repeatedly brought up Lai’s pro-Taiwanese independence remarks, saying they would undermine Taiwan’s security.
“Most Taiwanese take ‘Taiwanese independence’ to mean that Taiwan has autonomy and sovereignty, that it belongs to the nation’s 23 million citizens,” Lai said. “That the Republic of China (ROC) and China are not under each other’s sovereignty... Yes, I am a pragmatic activist, and my aim is to safeguard Taiwan, to build up this nation.”
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Society
Regarding his opponents raising concerns that US officials have allegedly said they oppose Taiwanese independence, Lai said that Hou and Ko took those comments out of context.
“The US has always said they oppose China changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by military force, while at the same time, saying they would not support Taiwan declaring independence. That is to maintain peace and security in the Strait ... but Hou and Ko choose to distort these comments,” Lai said.
Regarding the ROC Constitution, as it was adopted in 1946 in China, it does not suit the needs of the Taiwan’s current political and social landscape, he said.
“The People’s Republic of China has never recognized the existence of the ROC... Chinese leaders have clearly told the world there is only one China, and it is the only legitimate government of China,” he said. “However, today some people still use the ROC [Constitution] as a shield to cover both China and Taiwan, so we have to question whether it would bring peace or disaster to Taiwan?”
Under the DPP government and through the diligent efforts of Taiwanese, “as a nation, we are together proceeding on the right path,” Lai said. “In the past eight years, we chose to go with pragmatic diplomacy and develop indigenous defense weapon programs, and Taiwan has received much greater international support.”
Lai called for creating a new “Taiwan era for Taiwanese to have confidence in our own culture, with respect and dignity for our nation.”
“We do not need to rely on China for economic growth, for our nation. [We have] no need to subjugate ourselves, or give in to China’s intimidation,” he added.
Lai said he would ensure Taiwan moves toward a better future.
“This election is not for people to choose between war and peace. It is a vote for our future,” he said.
Hou, the only candidate to predominantly use Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) throughout the debate, criticized the DPP over a rise in cross-strait tensions.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) China policy, which Lai supports, has not worked, as tensions with Beijing are surging and Chinese warplanes are encroaching into Taiwanese airspace, Hou said.
The DPP’s China policy was akin to “a grasshopper provoking a rooster,” he said, adding that the KMT also rejects Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for Taiwan.
Regarding Lai’s comments that the Constitution cannot protect Taiwan, Hou said the vice president showed contempt and a lack of gratitude toward the nation that raised him.
Regarding when he supports “unification” with China, Hou said his centrist policy for Taiwan is to oppose independence, defend democracy and reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” scheme.
The perception that the KMT agrees with China’s interpretation of the so-called “1992 consensus” is due to DPP smear tactics, he said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
“The current status quo is that the Taiwan Strait is on the brink of war. So, to maintain close ties with the US while also making peace with China is the solution to the problem,” Hou said.
The KMT supports bolstering the nation’s defenses, but also believes that Taipei should talk with Beijing, so long as the two sides agree not to deny each other’s sovereignty and right to self-rule, he said.
Under his leadership, Taiwan would renew cultural exchanges to build trust with China to reopen dialogues, he said.
The DPP has smeared his campaign for supporting peaceful dialogue with China, Hou said.
“My foremost wish is to have peace,” he said.
Over the past eight years, the DPP has become “dictatorial, corrupt and incompetent,” he said.
Lai should be held responsible for the DPP’s failure to deliver on its campaign promises, such as the looming threat of war, energy issues and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, among others, he said.
Taiwanese have faced hardships over the past eight years and want a change in government, Hou said, adding that the DPP is to blame for low wages, corruption and the rise of fraud.
In his closing statement, Hou said that if elected, he would launch a “new Taiwanese political reform movement” based on the core values of peace, dignity, fairness, justice, clean government, good governance and fulfilling people’s aspiration for a change from the DPP.
That change would be enabled through a coalition government he would form under the KMT, and that Ko would likely play an important role in, he said.
Former Taipei mayor Ko said the presidential election is a historical choice between “new politics” and “old forces,” as it is the first time voters have the opportunity to oust the KMT and the DPP from power at the same time.
Taiwan has held seven presidential elections since the first direct election in 1996, during which the KMT and DPP have taken turns as ruling party, Ko said.
They both practice ideological manipulation and sow discord among Taiwanese, he said.
The DPP-led government has been unable to solve the problems that the KMT could not solve, and became just as corrupt as the KMT, he said.
Young people are concerned about low salaries, high housing costs and inflation, which leaves them with no hope for the future, he said.
The KMT and DPP have repeatedly let voters down, and Taiwan has become “a society with no harmony, political parties with no reconciliation and cross-strait relations with no peace,” Ko said, adding that it is time to lift Taiwan out of the ideological mud wrestling of the KMT and DPP.
Regarding foreign affairs, he said he would continue Tsai’s foreign policy, but not her China policy.
“Taiwan needs to find a balance on this... The DPP always takes a confrontational attitude [with China], while the KMT is always thinking about cooperation,” with Beijing, he said.
Taiwan should refer to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remark on the US’ approach to China — “competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be” — and consider how to maximize Taiwan’s interest and minimize risks under this framework, he said.
Regarding his controversial remark that the “two sides of the Strait are one family,” Ko said it was meant as a friendly gesture to China.
His fundamental stance is “Taiwan autonomy, cross-strait peace,” and he is willing to communicate with China, Ko said, adding that his goal is to maintain Taiwan’s current democratic and free government system, and lifestyle.
Regarding the Constitution, Ko said that although he agree with it, it has generated long-term controversies, such as including China in its territory, when the governmental power of both side are exclusive to one another.
It also does not permit Taiwan to choose independence or unification, he added.
On the topic of independence, Ko said that Lai only pretends not to be a Taiwanese independence advocate during the election.
He is often enraged by the DPP’s arrogance and unwilling to admit its wrongdoings, Ko said.
Regarding the KMT, he called Hou irresponsible for taking leave from his mayoral post shortly after being re-elected.
Ko also asked why China is so eager to interfere in Taiwan’s elections and influence voters to support Hou, even to the point of making up fake poll results.
Although the TPP does not have many resources, he is running for president “because Taiwanese want change,” Ko said.
He would continue “to firmly walk the path of reform, as there are still many problems that are waiting to be solved and to become an inclusive society,” he said.
During the debate, all three candidates faced questions over properties they or their families own.
Responding to criticisms that his family’s property in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) is an illegal structure, Lai said it was not illegal.
“Those old houses in the Wanli coal mining area were not covered by property statutes. It is wrong to label them as illegal,” Lai said.
He said that as New Taipei City Mayor, Hou “has failed to solve the issues of old houses in the coal mining areas.”
“I am the only one among the three candidates who did not engage in real-estate speculation, and in buying up land for profiteering,” he said.
He pointed to a property Hou’s wife, Ren Mei-ling (任美玲), owns on Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) and rents to students at Chinese Culture University.
The DPP has accused Hou’s family of charging excessively high rent to students.
How could Hou address housing justice when he owns that building, Lai said.
“What ability do you possess to lead the country and support the younger generation?” he said.
Hou said that all aspects of the building, which Ren inherited, were legal.
Regarding a Hsinchu City property he co-owns that was designated as farmland, but was paved and leased to a tour bus company, Ko said that his father purchased it in his name 15 years ago, and that he did not engage in land speculation, as the land was not rezoned.
He said his father had hoped he would return to Hsinchu to start a hospital, a promise he did not fulfill.
Additional reporting by Wu Liang-yi and agencies
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