Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's presidential hopefuls Ma Ying-jeou and Frank Hsieh took time to praise each other before trading barbs in the first of two crucial televised debates Sunday.
Ma, candidate of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), and Hsieh, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP's) candidate, were asked to name three qualities of their rival in the debate, which was something they almost never did since the campaign began last year.
The debate included 20 pre-recorded questions in video format from citizens.
"I can name more than three qualities of Mr. Hsieh, " Ma said, listing humor, Japanese proficiency, communication skills, and cooking as Hsieh's strengths. Ma also said he admired Hsieh's achievement as a high school gymnast.
Hsieh countered with humor: "The only weakness for Mr. Ma is that he has too many strengths." He gave Ma high marks on his language skills, experience as a public official, appearance and mild mannered personality.
The atmosphere, however, changed dramatically after the first segment of the event. Less than 10 minutes later in the question and answer period, both candidates attacked each other over the issue of integrity.
It was not easy to differentiate between Ma and Hsieh's platforms regarding agriculture, same-sex marriages, culture, environmental protection and major infrastructure construction projects, which were among various topics brought up in the 20 questions from citizens.
They had different views on how to stimulate the domestic economy, however, as Ma advocated closer agricultural and trade exchanges, further opening in regulation and market, and direct flights to China, while Hsieh held a more cautious and conservative view.
The debate was organized by the Central News Agency, the Public Television Service Foundation and four local newspapers. The second debate is scheduled to be held on March. 9.