Taiwan Presidential Election - Ma Ying-jeou Won (台湾总统大选 - 马英九当选台湾总统)
Mar 23, 2008 Around the Word, Celebrities
Congratulation to Mr Ma. Frankly speaking, I myself do not follow Taiwan politics closely nowadays, but my brother likes to watch Taiwan news/current affairs programme a lots. So more or less, I still know what is going one. Sorry if I am being rude, I seriously feel that the standard of Democratic Progressive Party is really low. The way they talk, their logics, and they way they keep attacking some small little issues instead of really have a complete plan for Taiwan, really make me puke. I hope that Taiwan will have a better future under the leadership of Mr Ma Ying-jeou. However, I am surprised that Mr Ma won by such large vote difference. It just shows that, Taiwanese are really beh tahan already.
Taken from Al Jazeerah English:
Opposition wins Taiwan election
Ma Ying-jeou, the leader of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, has won 58 per cent of the presidential vote.
The election had been contested between Ying-jeou of the KMT and Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Ying-jeou formally takes over on May 20 when Chen Shui-bian, the outgoing president, steps down.
Ying-jeou campaigned on boosting economic links with China and reversing the current pro-independence policies.
He told his supporters on Saturday: “This is a victory for people who hope for change and openness and reform, to march forward.”
“This election result is not a personal result, nor a victory for the KMT, it is a victory for all Taiwanese people,” added Ying-jeou.
A turnout of more than 75 per cent cast their votes.
Tensions with China
The KMT’s poll victory brings to an end eight years of Democratic Progressive party (DPP) rule under Chen Shui-bian, who is stepping down after the maximum two terms.
Shui-bian’s pro-independence policies created recurring tensions with China, Taiwan’s biggest trading partner.
Ying-jeou said that while he favoured friendlier ties with China, he would not discuss reunification in any of his meetings with Beijing’s leaders.
But he has pledged to work for closer ties with China, including a peace treaty to end decades of hostilities between Beijing and the self-ruled island.
Reforms or identity
Taiwanese voters had to decide whether to stick with a party that had struggled to improve ties with China, or switch to one that promises peace and greater profits from the island’s giant neighbour.
Hsieh favoured formal independence while Ying-jeou preferred eventual reunification once China embraces democracy.
But both candidates had toughened their stances on China following Beijing’s crackdown in Tibet.
Economic issues
However, analysts say Taiwan’s faltering economy would have been the number one issue with voters.
Both candidates advocate more direct flights, tourism and investment opportunities between Taiwan and China in order to improve the domestic economy.
Al Jazeeera’s Hamish MacDonald in Taipei reported that Taiwan’s economy is an overriding theme in the elections.
MacDonald said that there has been an increased awareness among Taiwanese voters that the island’s economy is directly anchored to the growth of China.
However, Beijing has imposed certain limits on conducting business transactions from Taiwan.
“Taiwan has a growing economy, yet it lags behind its Asian neighbours,” MacDonald reported.
Ralph Cossa from Pacific Forum CSIS, a US based think tank, says: “Domestic issues, such as the economy and corruption, are bigger than China or foreign policy.”
Referendum failure
Meanwhile, the central election commission said that Taiwan’s two referendums on joining the United Nations had failed.
The initiative, which asked whether Taiwan should seek to join the global body as “Taiwan” instead of its legal name, the Republic of China, had sparked protest from China.
Beijing sees the initiative as a further move towards full-fledged independence.
Japan, Russia, France and the US had also criticised the referendum as unnecessarily provocative.
Two US aircraft carriers had been deployed to an unspecified area near Taiwan during the election, for what US defence officials said was training exercises.
In 1996, during Taiwan’s first democratic presidential election, China fired a series of missiles into the Taiwan Strait, in a sabre-rattling gesture seen as trying to intimidate voters.
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Tags: election, KMT, Kuomintang, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan
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