TAIWAN/CHINA: Taiwan's President-elect holds news conference following landslide victory

Record ID: 838562

  • Title: TAIWAN/CHINA: Taiwan's President-elect holds news conference following landslide victory
  • Date: 23rd March 2008
  • Summary: (BN05) BEIJING, CHINA (MARCH 23, 2008) (REUTERS) NEWSPAPER STAND MAN BUYING NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER HEADLINES REFERRING TO TAIWAN ELECTIONS
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2008 13:00
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  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE0HIRDRIZ5A0RHMMXXCSHX09Y
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  • Story Text: Taiwan looks to closer ties with China after opposition party candidate Ma Ying-jeou clinches a landslide victory in presidential elections.
    An end to the more than half a century of hostility and tension between Taiwan and China may be in the offing with the election of a more China-friendly president for the island, but progress will be slow and tortuous.
    The opposition Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou won in the presidential election held on Saturday (March 22) against an opponent who had tried to use recent bloody protests in Tibet to scare people into not voting for Ma.
    The Democratic Progressive Party's Frank Hsieh said Taiwan risked becoming another Tibet if Ma, with his more pro-China views, won.
    Though that strategy backfired, Ma now has to try and reach out to China, but without being seen to compromise Taiwan's security.

    "I've been a long term anti-communist for sure, and I also recognize that mainland China is a threat to Taiwan's security, but it is also a place of opportunity to Taiwan's business, so we have to manage the relationship in a way that will maximize the opportunity, while minimize the security risk," Ma told a news conference on Sunday (March 23).
    Ma has said he would consider boycotting the Olympics if Tibet violence continues, and he sees China's condition unacceptable to restrict national flags of the Republic of China to be shown on the torch route.

    "I would say the consensus, and then the difference, between the Olympic committee of mainland China and Taiwan, so eventually they decided not to have the torch coming to Taiwan. That's quite regrettable, but one problem is mainland Chinese insistence that where the torch goes, there should not be shown any national flags of the Republic of China, which is not acceptable to us. Thank you."
    But Ma said he would not consider talking peace with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own, until Beijing removes missiles aimed at Taiwan.
    The two sides have been run separately since 1949, when defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of a civil war. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
    Despite that, economic ties are close, and Taiwanese companies have invested billions of dollars in China, drawn by low costs and a common language and culture. China is also Taiwan's biggest trading partner.

    "I think the people are expecting some more progressive and active engagement with mainland China, for the sake of Taiwanese interest and for economy in the future. That is the priority, and that is the consensus for the constituency as well. So they are putting hopes into Ma Ying-jeou because he emphasize revitalizing economy, and better relations with Beijing," said Andrew Yang, secretary general of the China council of advanced policy studies.
    Yet there are still no direct flights allowed across the narrow Taiwan Strait, aside from limited charter services.
    Analysts said voters hope that Ma will help cross-Strait relations to return to normal, but this will be his biggest challenge, because cross-Strait relations take a lot of negotiation which Taiwan may be in at a disadvantage.
    Voters say they are confident the new president elect Ma Ying-jeou will work hard to revitalise the island's sagging economy with his economic policies with the mainland.

    "This is of course his policies, I believe he will do very well for this country and the people," said Chang Wen-chin, a Taipei resident.

    "By allowing Chinese tourists to come into Taiwan, this will more or less help our economy," said another Taipei resident, Lai Bao-mei.
    A state of war between the two sides still exists, as no peace treaty has ever been signed. Taiwan is armed to the teeth, mainly with U.S. weapons, and China is rapidly modernising its military to close the technology gap.
    Chinese President Hu Jintao offered earlier this month peace talks, under the so-called "one China" principle, which contends the island and the mainland are part of a single sovereign country, a concept Taiwan's current government has rejected.
    Chinese state media reported the news of the elections, but avoided referring to the poll for the "president" of Taiwan.

    "According to reports by Taiwan media, the election for the leader of Taiwan was held on March 22. Nationalist candidates Ma Yingjiu and Xiao Wangchang won the election by 7,658,700 votes, which accounted for 58.45 percent of the vote. Democratic Progressive Party candidates Xie Changting and Su Zhenchang won 5,445,200 votes, which accounted for 41.55 percent of the vote," said on the noon bulletin.
    Several local Beijing newspapers carried Ma's victory as the headline news, but most used the phrase "leader of Taiwan" instead of "president".
    For many mainlanders, the reunification of the country is still their biggest concern.

    "Personally, I hoped Ma Ying-jeou would win the election. I hope he can stick to his promise to improve relationships across the Strait during his four-year presidential tenure. And I think like the Korean peninsula, people with the same roots of blood, and of the same nationality should get along with each others peacefully," added Ms. Kong.
    Like the Chinese media, some people were against the title "president".

    "I think it not so proper to call him 'president'. After all, Taiwan is part of China. To name a president means to separate Taiwan from China. Such words and actions will not help with the reunification of the country," Mr. Yang.
    In a move sure to infuriate Beijing, Ma said he'd be happy to meet Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who China has accused of masterminding the violence in Tibet.
    But in a gesture of friendship to Beijing, Ma said he would accept two pandas offered by China to the island three years ago and rejected by the then-ruling DPP.
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