忘拉手刹开车:Taiwan Election Debate

President Ma Ying-jeou for the Kuomintang defended his record mainly by citing statistics to compare his achievements with the previous eight years of Democratic Progressive Party government under President Chen Shui-bian.

DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen attacked Ma’s performance in office especially on the economy, questioning his leadership qualities. The Ma administration had allowed the gap between rich and poor to grow to unprecedented levels, while wasting public money, she said.

Ma “has moved closer to China, but further from Taiwan and from the people,” the opposition leader said.

People First Party Chairman James Soong said the two other parties should stop quarreling and put the national interest first. He defended the plight of the middle class, the small and medium enterprises and the lower and middle incomes, who he said had all suffered both under KMT and DPP administrations. Some of his comments received repeated agreement from Ma and Tsai.

On China, Tsai pushed for her Taiwan consensus, which came under attack from Ma for allegedly being too vague. “She decides herself what the Taiwan consensus is but other people do not know,” Ma said, describing this position as “dangerous.”

The opposition leader said the key to a Taiwan consensus was the democratic process, maintaining transparency to reach a domestic agreement. Tsai said she was open to a dialogue with China but would first hold a domestic dialogue to reach a national consensus on the basic issues.

Ma said his stance of 'no unification, no independence, no military force’ already received the support of 80 percent of the public according to opinion polls, forming a type of 'Taiwan consensus.’

Ma also defended the so-called '1992 consensus,’ i.e. the formula 'One China, Each His Own Interpretation’ mentioned at cross-strait talks in Hong Kong in 1992. The DPP rejects the existence of a consensus.

“There was only a consensus between the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT, not between two countries,” Tsai said, questioning how Taiwan would want a leader who accepted something which did not exist. “Having a country accept a consensus between parties is not democratic,” she added.

Tsai said she had never heard China say that each side could have its own interpretation of what the term One China meant.

Ma repeatedly asked the public if they wanted to return to the era of President Chen Shui-bian, citing statistics to purportedly show that those were Taiwan’s worst years.

“The wrong choice will bring ten years of regress,” Ma said.

Tsai struck back by saying the Chen administration had laid the foundations for many policies, including financial reforms and the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourists.

Ma apologized for failing to realize his 2008 campaign promise of 6 percent annual economic growth, maximum 3 percent unemployment, and US$30,000 (NT$903,000) average annual income. At the time, Ma plugged the package under the catchy name of 6-3-3.

The DPP candidate said that three years of KMT rule had left the unemployed wondering about when they would find a job, and the employed wondering about how long they could hold on their job.

Tsai promised that if she were elected, she would cut the government deficit in half by the end of her first term and make it disappear after eight years. She blamed the Ma government for not having a central economic policy plan and for wasting money on expensive projects. Ma said the investments would bear fruit in the future.

The DPP leader emphasized the importance of having an effective president who could lead the country forward and receive the confidence of the public.

“The duty of a president is to lead people forward,” Tsai said, adding that her administration would rely on experts from all sectors of society regardless of political affiliation.

Soong emphasized the crucial role of education in giving the public the chance to move up in society and to avoid poverty. The PFP leader, who stands at about 10 percent in most opinion polls, concluded his part of the debate with another appeal to reform education and with a call for national conferences on China and the economy.

In her concluding address, Tsai said that under Ma’s rule, Taiwan had turned into two divided worlds of rich and poor and its sovereignty had been damaged. Taiwanese voters had to decide “who is closer to the people and who has the ability to rule,” she said.

The president said the KMT was still the safest choice to lead Taiwan through difficult economic times and to improve relations with China. He ended the two and a half hours of debate with the restatement of a dramatic call to let “Taiwan fly high against the wind.”

The three candidates’ running mates will face each other at a similar debate on December 10, while the presidential hopefuls return to their debating lecterns on December 17.

An opinion poll released on the eve of the first debate said it might determine the voting behavior of up to 40 percent of the public.