By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Media representatives visited the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday to discuss possible presidential debates ahead of the presidential election in January.
Representatives from the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), the China Times, United Daily News, the Apple Daily, Central News Agency and the Public Television System visited the KMT and DPP campaign offices about the debates for the first time and received positive responses from both sides.
If held, it would mark the third time nationally televised presidential debates have been held, following debates in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.
The debates are likely to be one-on-one encounters between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking re-election, and DPP Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), unless a third candidate emerges.
“We appreciate the effort and we are looking forward to the debates, because the event will help the electorate understand more about the candidate and her platform,” DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
Chen said DPP officials, including DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), were briefed by the media delegation on the preliminary organization plan, but details and dates of the debates have yet to be decided.
“Traditionally, nothing [of the debate plan] will be decided -before the negotiations between both political parties. But we do not know yet when [the negotiation] will happen,” Chen said.
“The office welcomes the debates and will do its best to support the organization,” Ma campaign spokesman Lo Chih-chang (羅志強) quoted King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), the office’s executive director, who met with the media delegation, as saying.
In previous presidential debates, candidates were given time to debate and pose questions to each other before taking questions from the media and pre-selected members of the public.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Monday, August 01, 2011
Economics law professor accepts TSU nomination
FOCUSED ON ECFA:If he becomes a TSU lawmaker, Hsu Chung-hsin plans to devote his time to the pact, which he says makes it hard for Taiwan to upgrade its economy
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信), a law professor at National Cheng Kung University, confirmed yesterday that he had accepted a nomination by the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) to be one of its top two candidates on its legislator-at-large list.
Attorney Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said he had declined a similar offer by the TSU.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday that Koo and Hsu had been picked by the TSU as the top two candidates on its list.
As a small party aligned with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the TSU hopes to attain a threshold of 5 percent of total votes in January’s legislative elections, in which a second-ballot voting system will allow voters to pick the party of their choice.
The TSU hopes to secure at least two of the 34 legislator-at-large seats.
The party said this was its only goal in the two-in-one elections and has pledged to support DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the DPP’s presidential candidate, by not nominating any candidate in the 73 single-member district elections.
Commenting on his decision to accept the nomination, Hsu said the TSU had first contacted him two weeks ago and had approached him on three occasions.
“I accepted the offer to be a candidate as long as Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen agrees, because she was my advisor for my doctoral dissertation,” he said.
If voted into the legislature, the economics law professor said he would focus on economic -issues, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed by Taiwan and China in June last year.
The agreement, which provides tariff breaks and other favors that risk unduly tying Taiwan’s economy to that of China, will make it more difficult for Taiwan’s industry to upgrade through branding and greater emphasis on research and development, he said.
“We don’t have to depend solely on China economically. There is so much the government can do to help local small and medium-sized enterprises [SME],” Hsu said, giving the example of southwestern Germany, where authorities provided assistance to SMEs with low-interest loans and the integration of research-and-development capabilities.
Koo, who is representing former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in a corruption case against Lee, said he had declined the offer, but TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) had asked him to give it more thought.
Attacks on DPP a miscalculation: panel
BACKFIRE:：Analysts said diatribe between pan-green and pan-blue camps on Taiwan’s status were of no substance and that the KMT would not win any points on this front
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Mon, Aug 01, 2011 - Page 3
Criticism by China and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) last week of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) position on Taiwanese independence were examples of “miscalculations” and would not “score any points” for the KMT in the presidential election in January, analysts told a forum yesterday.
“Taiwanese independence will only be a ‘ceremonial war’ between the pan-green and pan-blue camps in which you will see a lot of rhetoric without substantial content,” said Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), a former DPP legislator and commentator on cross-strait relations.
In an interview aired on Thursday evening, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), tapped by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as his vice presidential running mate, attacked DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) advocacy of independence as “only rhetoric that she dare not implement,” adding that it was akin to “fraud.”
King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), executive director of Ma’s re-election campaign, meanwhile, said Tsai would not dare include the slogan “no independence” as part of her presidential campaign platform.
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅), on a visit to Washington last week, reiterated Beijing’s stance and its position on the so-called “1992 consensus.”
He also accused Tsai of supporting the “one country on each side” formula and described her as “walking the path of Taiwan independence.”
The KMT, as well as some mainstream media in Taipei, consider China policy to be the DPP’s “Achilles heel,” as its pro-independence position has contributed to “unstable cross-strait relations,” Lin said.
While 73 percent of respondents in a recent survey conducted by Global Views magazine said they did not understand Tsai’s China policy, only 43 percent approved of Ma’s cross-strait policy, he said.
“This shows that both sides have their merits: The pan-blue camp has been able to maintain stable bilateral relations with China, but has failed to safeguard [Taiwan’s] sovereignty, while the DPP has achieved the opposite,” he said.
The same scenario was also seen on the economic front, he said, as the Ma administration says it has been able to boost the nation’s GDP by strengthening economic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, but it could not prevent a hollowing out of Taiwan’s local industries.
“Engaging in a war [of words] like this will not help President Ma and his party in the elections,” Lin said. “With help from Beijing, however, they will keep attacking. It’s just that they will not score any points.”
Also at the forum, World United Formosans for Independence chairman Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) called the KMT’s attack on Tsai “boring” and said its reasoning on Taiwan’s status was illogical.
While Ma has reiterated that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent country, he should also understand that China is always opposed to “any form of independence,” be it “one China, one Taiwan,” “Taiwan independence” or “Two Chinas,” Ng said.
“China also opposes ‘an independent ROC.’ If Ma is against Taiwanese independence in any form, then the ROC cannot exist,” he said.
The DPP’s position on Taiwan’s status has been very clear since its party resolution in 1999, stating that Taiwan is an independent country with the current moniker of the ROC, Ng said.
The independence-unification controversy has been a decade-old issue and “an international issue — to some extent,” Ng said, as a majority of voters are more concerned with their own well-being.
Ng said he agreed with Tsai’s decision to make social and economic issues the battleground of her presidential campaign.
“As far as I am concerned, the KMT and China are welcome to keep attacking the independence issue, because it will come back and hurt them,” Ng said.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
DPP slams appointment of Yang Hsi-an
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The appointment of Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安), who resigned over a scandal surrounding construction of the Xinsheng Overpass last year, as Taipei deputy mayor was the latest example that confidantes or family members of pan-blue politicians continually fail to avoid conflicts of interest, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) decision to appoint Yang, a former Taipei City Secretariat director, as his deputy is “shocking,” DPP spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) told a press conference.
Yang, 61, was not indicted after prosecutors completed their investigation into the scandal despite being listed as a defendant and accused of conspiring with construction companies during the bidding process, leading to allegations of kickbacks and corruption.
Four of Yang’s subordinates were subsequently indicted in the case, in which investigations showed contractors repeatedly overcharged the city government — sometimes by a factor of 30 — for a beautification project.
“Yang was not held accountable. He has even been promoted to deputy mayor in charge of public construction,” Liang said.
Taipei City Government ignored the fact that Yang’s wife works as secretary for the chairman of a construction consulting firm that has won no less than 68 construction bids in Taipei over the past three years, Liang said, adding that this constituted a violation of the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法).
The act stipulates that companies found to be in violation of the act can be fined between one and three times the amount of the transaction.
Yang’s controversial appointment is not without precedent, as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government officials are “repeat violators of the act,” Liang said.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) elder sister Ma Yi-nan (馬以南) was involved in a case in 1998 in which China Chemical and Pharmaceutical (CCPC), the company in which she worked as a deputy manager, sold pharmaceuticals to Taipei City government.
Ma Ying-jeou was Taipei mayor at the time.
TECO Electric and Machinery and its chairman, Liu Chao-kai (劉兆凱), were fined for bidding for government projects when his brother, Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), was the serving premier between 2008 and 2009.
The DPP does not rule out the possibility of referring the Yang case to the Control Yuan and the Ministry of Justice, Liang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The appointment of Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安), who resigned over a scandal surrounding construction of the Xinsheng Overpass last year, as Taipei deputy mayor was the latest example that confidantes or family members of pan-blue politicians continually fail to avoid conflicts of interest, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) decision to appoint Yang, a former Taipei City Secretariat director, as his deputy is “shocking,” DPP spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) told a press conference.
Yang, 61, was not indicted after prosecutors completed their investigation into the scandal despite being listed as a defendant and accused of conspiring with construction companies during the bidding process, leading to allegations of kickbacks and corruption.
Four of Yang’s subordinates were subsequently indicted in the case, in which investigations showed contractors repeatedly overcharged the city government — sometimes by a factor of 30 — for a beautification project.
“Yang was not held accountable. He has even been promoted to deputy mayor in charge of public construction,” Liang said.
Taipei City Government ignored the fact that Yang’s wife works as secretary for the chairman of a construction consulting firm that has won no less than 68 construction bids in Taipei over the past three years, Liang said, adding that this constituted a violation of the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法).
The act stipulates that companies found to be in violation of the act can be fined between one and three times the amount of the transaction.
Yang’s controversial appointment is not without precedent, as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government officials are “repeat violators of the act,” Liang said.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) elder sister Ma Yi-nan (馬以南) was involved in a case in 1998 in which China Chemical and Pharmaceutical (CCPC), the company in which she worked as a deputy manager, sold pharmaceuticals to Taipei City government.
Ma Ying-jeou was Taipei mayor at the time.
TECO Electric and Machinery and its chairman, Liu Chao-kai (劉兆凱), were fined for bidding for government projects when his brother, Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), was the serving premier between 2008 and 2009.
The DPP does not rule out the possibility of referring the Yang case to the Control Yuan and the Ministry of Justice, Liang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
DPP stance on sovereignty clear: Tsai
CHANGE IS THE NORM:A party spokesperson said China should not see the DPP’s return to power as a failure of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s Taiwan policy
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has always maintained the stance that it wishes to work with China for cross-strait stability and prosperity, the DPP said yesterday in response to criticism from China and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over its stance on independence.
In an interview aired on Thursday evening, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), tapped by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as his running mate in January’s presidential election, attacked DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) advocacy of independence as “only a rhetoric that she dare not implement.”
It is like “fraud,” he added.
King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), executive director of Ma’s re-election campaign, meanwhile, has also said Tsai “dare not include ‘no independence’ as part of her [presidential] campaign platform.”
Coincidentally, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅), who is visiting Washington, reiterated China’s anti-independence stance and its firm position on the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying that any violation of that position would jeopardize future cross-strait development.
Wang criticized Tsai’s support of “one country on each side” and described her as “walking the path of Taiwan independence.”
When approached by press for response to Wu and King’s criticism, Tsai yesterday said the DPP’s position on Taiwan’s future had been clearly stated in the party’s resolution on Taiwan’s future in 1999.
The resolution states that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country and any change to the status quo must be decided by all the residents of Taiwan by means of a plebiscite.
Meanwhile, party spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said the party would not treat Wang’s comments as a major Chinese statement, as “it has been common practice in Beijing for years before Taiwan’s major elections, but we do not encourage unnecessary threats like this.”
“Everyone understands the KMT’s pro-unification position, despite it having excluded related text from its party platform. Will Wu speak out loud about his goal for eventual unification?” he asked, adding that the KMT is also obligated to explain to Taiwanese its position on Taiwan’s future, be it eventual unification, maintaining the status quo or anything else.
Another DPP spokesperson, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), said that Wang’s comment showed the agreements signed in the past three years by the Ma administration and China were based on the “one China” principle as defined by China, rather than Ma’s interpretation of “one China, with each side [of the Taiwan Strait] having its own interpretation.”
China should not see the DPP’s return to power as a failure of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) Taiwan policy because regime change should be accepted as a norm in a democracy, Cheng added.
Wang was also quoted as saying that the “Taiwan problem” is China’s “internal affair.”
Denouncing the comment, Cheng said the DPP’s position adheres to the 1999 resolution.
The Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday also criticized Wang’s statement. It said the Republic of China is an independent and sovereign country.
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has always maintained the stance that it wishes to work with China for cross-strait stability and prosperity, the DPP said yesterday in response to criticism from China and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over its stance on independence.
In an interview aired on Thursday evening, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), tapped by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as his running mate in January’s presidential election, attacked DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) advocacy of independence as “only a rhetoric that she dare not implement.”
It is like “fraud,” he added.
King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), executive director of Ma’s re-election campaign, meanwhile, has also said Tsai “dare not include ‘no independence’ as part of her [presidential] campaign platform.”
Coincidentally, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅), who is visiting Washington, reiterated China’s anti-independence stance and its firm position on the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying that any violation of that position would jeopardize future cross-strait development.
Wang criticized Tsai’s support of “one country on each side” and described her as “walking the path of Taiwan independence.”
When approached by press for response to Wu and King’s criticism, Tsai yesterday said the DPP’s position on Taiwan’s future had been clearly stated in the party’s resolution on Taiwan’s future in 1999.
The resolution states that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country and any change to the status quo must be decided by all the residents of Taiwan by means of a plebiscite.
Meanwhile, party spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said the party would not treat Wang’s comments as a major Chinese statement, as “it has been common practice in Beijing for years before Taiwan’s major elections, but we do not encourage unnecessary threats like this.”
“Everyone understands the KMT’s pro-unification position, despite it having excluded related text from its party platform. Will Wu speak out loud about his goal for eventual unification?” he asked, adding that the KMT is also obligated to explain to Taiwanese its position on Taiwan’s future, be it eventual unification, maintaining the status quo or anything else.
Another DPP spokesperson, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), said that Wang’s comment showed the agreements signed in the past three years by the Ma administration and China were based on the “one China” principle as defined by China, rather than Ma’s interpretation of “one China, with each side [of the Taiwan Strait] having its own interpretation.”
China should not see the DPP’s return to power as a failure of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) Taiwan policy because regime change should be accepted as a norm in a democracy, Cheng added.
Wang was also quoted as saying that the “Taiwan problem” is China’s “internal affair.”
Denouncing the comment, Cheng said the DPP’s position adheres to the 1999 resolution.
The Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday also criticized Wang’s statement. It said the Republic of China is an independent and sovereign country.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Defense policy questions raised
NO NEED FOR PESSIMISM:One expert said that Taiwan could still afford to be more aggressive in the South China Sea as it controls Taiping Island, the largest in the area
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The national defense policy of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration needs a major overhaul as its current direction reflects a fundamental paradox, former government officials and academics told a panel yesterday.
“Failing to appropriately address China’s role — whether as a friend or a foe — is one of the fundamental flaws of current defense policy,” York Chen (陳文政), an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies told the forum, organized by the Taiwan Brain Trust think tank.
This year’s annual national defense report, released by the Ministry of National Defense on July 19, lists China as an “enemy state” and highlights the imbalance in the defense budgets and capabilities of the two sides, Chen said.
However, “the question is whether the Ma administration considers China to be an enemy. Do those active and former government officials who constantly visit China see it as an enemy?” Chen asked.
That demonstrates the very different mindset between military and civilian leadership, Chen said.
The other significant flaw lies in contradictory policy relating to military personnel and armaments, he said.
Although Ma has promised to implement an all-volunteer program, national finances cannot support such a program, Chen said, adding that Ma has yet to explain how he plans to recruit sufficient volunteers in light of the declining birthrate.
The Ma administration has been reluctant both in terms of its efforts to acquire arms from the US and to develop a domestic arms industry, he said.
Facing a rising China, Taiwan should develop “asymmetric warfare” capabilities with a focus on developing indigenous weapons, such as smaller submarines under 500 tonnes, short and mid-range land-based missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters and missile boats, former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said.
Taiwan should also align itself with allies — predominantly the US and Japan — to ensure regional stability in the Asia-Pacific and the Taiwan Strait and to neutralize China’s military expansion, Tsai said.
On the recent dispute in the South China Sea, Tsai said Taiwan should consult with Japan and the US respectively or submit a statement at APEC or ASEAN summits that it plans to approach the issue in accordance with international law.
Time is on Taiwan’s side for military reform, as there is no imminent threat of China launching an attack, given its internal economic and social issues, said Chang Kuo-cheng (張國城), a senior councilor at Taiwan Thinktank.
“There is no need to be pessimistic about Taiwan’s national defense,” he said.
However, Taiwan can afford be more aggressive on the South China Sea, as it already controls Taiping Island (太平島), the largest island in the area, he said.
Panel questions commitment to fighter jets
SHOW THE MONEY:：While the Ma administration says it wants to buy 66 F-16C/Ds from the US, it hasn’t budgeted for them or set military spending above 3% of GDP
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 - Page 1
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration must demonstrate to the US that it is serious about purchasing F-16C/D aircraft to boost Taiwan’s air defense capabilities and to proactively engage in regional discussions about the South China Sea dispute, former government officials and academics told a think tank forum yesterday.
About two months before the US is expected to announce its decision on Taiwan’s request to buy 66 F-16C/Ds, panelists at a forum organized by the Taiwan Brain Trust said Taiwan has not demonstrated enough determination for the US to approve the sale, which Beijing opposes.
While the Ma administration has publicly voiced its desire to buy the planes on 21 occasions since taking office in May 2008, it has failed to maintain defense budgets above 3 percent of GDP, despite one of Ma’s main campaign promises, or to budget for the 66 planes next year, former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said.
This sends a signal that Taipei is not “serious enough,” Tsai said, adding that he was not optimistic about an announcement Washington has scheduled for Oct. 1, when many analysts believe it will green-light an upgrade program for Taiwan’s 144 aging F-16A/B fleet while mothballing the F-16C/Ds request.
The order, if approved, would create 15,000 jobs at the F-16 -production line in Texas and mean billions of dollars for the US economy, but Washington will also weigh the pros and cons of the deal’s impact on its relations with Beijing, he said.
“There is still time left. The Ma administration should send a strong message through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office [TECRO], Taiwan’s representative office in Washington, and the American Institute in Taiwan, as well as sending a budget plan to the legislature immediately to show the US that it is serious about the procurement,” Tsai said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration began discussing a F-16C/D purchase with the Pentagon in 2005, when then-US president George W. Bush and the Department of Defense tended to favor the deal, provided Taiwan had the budget, Tsai said.
However, the US Department of State had second thoughts because of China’s role in assisting the US in Afghanistan and over efforts to limit North Korea’s nuclear program, he said, while Washington’s ties with Taipei worsened during the last half of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) second term.
Bush wanted to complete the arms package, which included six PAC-3 air defense systems, eight diesel-electric submarines and 12 P-3C marine patrol aircraft before putting the F-16C/Ds on the agenda, said Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who served as representative to Washington from 2007 to 2008.
Citing a Washington Times -report on Tuesday that said TECRO “has not lobbied very strongly for new F-16s or the upgrades of old jets,” Wu said the story “carried some weight” because “traditionally, the newspaper has been a channel for US officials to send messages to Taiwan.”
“Rhetoric is not good enough for the US. The US will also monitor what you have done and what you are doing,” Wu said.
Chang Kuo-cheng (張國城), a senior councilor at Taiwan Thinktank and former secretary of the deputy minister of national defense, said the US was unlikely to approve the sale because of its complex relations with China.
“More than anything else, the US is not likely to approve the sale on Oct. 1 — the People’s Republic of China’s national day,” Chang said.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
CEC should do more to publicize electoral system: TSU
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Thu, Jul 28, 2011 - Page 3
The Central Election Commission (CEC) should step up its effort to promote the “single-member district, two-vote” electoral system even though the system puts smaller parties such as the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) at a disadvantage, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said yesterday .
Even though the system was implemented four years ago, nearly half the respondents in a recent poll conducted by the TSU said they were not aware of a “second ballot” that determines the legislator-at-large seats, Huang said.
Slightly more than 46 percent of respondents said they did not know about the second ballot, while 62.1 percent knew the voting system was designed to determine the legislator-at-large seats, while 37.9 percent mistakenly thought it was for single-member district elections.
About 24 percent did not know next year’s presidential election and legislative elections would be held on Jan. 14.
The survey was conducted from July 19 to Sunday and had a margin of error of 3 percent.
Huang said the commission had “fallen asleep” and been “negligent” in promoting the new system, which he said works against smaller parties, particularly in single-member district elections.
“That is why the second ballot is important to smaller parties to make sure alternative voices can be heard,” Huang told a press conference.
The commission will not launch its promotion program for the January elections until Sept. 15, when the official election announcement is made, Central Election Commission Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) said, adding that it would use TV commercials as well as radio and print advertisements.
The second-ballot voting system, in which voters pick the party of their choice, is used to determine 34 legislator-at-large seats. The other 73 seats are elected from single-member districts.
Only the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) were able to secure legislator-at-large seats in the 2008 elections because only parties who garner 5 percent of the vote are eligible for a seat.
The TSU obtained 3.53 percent of the vote in 2008. Between 2001 and 2007, the party held more than 10 seats in the legislature and only five of the 906 local councilors are TSU members.
Although the TSU has pledged to support DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential bid and will not nominate candidates in the single-member district elections, it will try to win at least two legislator-at-large seats to avoid being marginalized.
The TSU needs help from the DPP to do so, Huang said, calling on Tsai to “at least express goodwill, recognize the TSU’s important role as a strong ally of the DPP and help the TSU to surpass the 5 percent threshold.”
The TSU could have been another People First Party (PFP), he said, referring to the KMT ally that decided to nominate its own district candidates and legislator-at-large hopefuls, a move seen as a potential threat to the KMT.
“The DPP needs the TSU more than we need it. However, we have made clear that [the TSU] will not be a spoiler in the elections, so it’s time for the DPP to demonstrate goodwill,” Huang said, without elaborating on what the DPP could do.
Thu, Jul 28, 2011 - Page 3
The Central Election Commission (CEC) should step up its effort to promote the “single-member district, two-vote” electoral system even though the system puts smaller parties such as the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) at a disadvantage, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said yesterday .
Even though the system was implemented four years ago, nearly half the respondents in a recent poll conducted by the TSU said they were not aware of a “second ballot” that determines the legislator-at-large seats, Huang said.
Slightly more than 46 percent of respondents said they did not know about the second ballot, while 62.1 percent knew the voting system was designed to determine the legislator-at-large seats, while 37.9 percent mistakenly thought it was for single-member district elections.
About 24 percent did not know next year’s presidential election and legislative elections would be held on Jan. 14.
The survey was conducted from July 19 to Sunday and had a margin of error of 3 percent.
Huang said the commission had “fallen asleep” and been “negligent” in promoting the new system, which he said works against smaller parties, particularly in single-member district elections.
“That is why the second ballot is important to smaller parties to make sure alternative voices can be heard,” Huang told a press conference.
The commission will not launch its promotion program for the January elections until Sept. 15, when the official election announcement is made, Central Election Commission Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) said, adding that it would use TV commercials as well as radio and print advertisements.
The second-ballot voting system, in which voters pick the party of their choice, is used to determine 34 legislator-at-large seats. The other 73 seats are elected from single-member districts.
Only the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) were able to secure legislator-at-large seats in the 2008 elections because only parties who garner 5 percent of the vote are eligible for a seat.
The TSU obtained 3.53 percent of the vote in 2008. Between 2001 and 2007, the party held more than 10 seats in the legislature and only five of the 906 local councilors are TSU members.
Although the TSU has pledged to support DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential bid and will not nominate candidates in the single-member district elections, it will try to win at least two legislator-at-large seats to avoid being marginalized.
The TSU needs help from the DPP to do so, Huang said, calling on Tsai to “at least express goodwill, recognize the TSU’s important role as a strong ally of the DPP and help the TSU to surpass the 5 percent threshold.”
The TSU could have been another People First Party (PFP), he said, referring to the KMT ally that decided to nominate its own district candidates and legislator-at-large hopefuls, a move seen as a potential threat to the KMT.
“The DPP needs the TSU more than we need it. However, we have made clear that [the TSU] will not be a spoiler in the elections, so it’s time for the DPP to demonstrate goodwill,” Huang said, without elaborating on what the DPP could do.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
DPP attacks KMT over party asset claims
By Chris Wang and Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporters
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 - Page 1
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said claims by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that it has placed all its party assets into a trust are false and urged it to improve transparency on the matter.
Citing the KMT’s annual financial report, DPP spokesmen told a press conference that the KMT had placed “worthless” assets into a trust and put together a team of party officials and confidantes to run its companies and gain “unreasonable profit” through insider trading.
The KMT only placed NT$2.24 million (US$77,700) — a fraction of its billions — into a trust, DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
“If the Financial Supervisory Commission does not launch an investigation into the ‘surrogate trust’ and ‘wallpaper trust,’ we do not rule out bringing the case to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Panel,” Chen said.
The KMT took over the assets of the Japanese colonial government and countless private businesses and individuals when it took control of Taiwan, a move many of its detractors have described as outright theft. It pledged in 2005 to sell all its assets, which had made it the richest political party in the world.
However, the DPP said the KMT’s annual financial report shows it has failed to deliver on its promise.
The KMT placed the US$24 million (based on the 1949 exchange rate) in public debt issued by the nationalist government in China before it fled to Taiwan in 1949 into trust on March 26, 2001, DPP spokesman Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
Auditors of the KMT report said that by law, the debt could not be sold, he said, adding: “In other words, the bonds are probably as worthless as wallpaper.”
Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) placed NT$2 billion into a trust in 2001, including the public debt and NT$13 billion in cash, Chuang said, but the cash fell to NT$2.49 million in 2005 and NT$2.23 million since 2006.
The NT$2.23 million account for an estimated 0.01 percent of the KMT’s total assets, Chuang said.
“We wonder where all that money has gone,” Chuang said, adding the KMT has been lying to Taiwanese.
Controversy surrounding the Central Investment Holding Co (中央投資), a company with a net worth of about NT$20 billion, resurfaced after data published by the Ministry of Interior on Friday showed that the company’s stock dividends accounted for almost NT$2.9 billion last year and made up more than four-fifths of the KMT’s total earnings.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) had said on Friday that the party did put most of its assets into a trust and that it would sell Central Investment Holding Co, the last of its most controversial assets, via a transparent process.
However, DPP spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said all seven members of the company’s board of directors were former KMT members or professionals with strong ties to the party. Auditors have listed the company, as well as its spin-off, “Hsinyutai Co” (欣裕台股份有限公司), as long-term investment projects, which means they are still run like a private company, he said.
The two companies invested NT$18 billion on the local stock market last year and received NT$2.9 billion in dividends, a 16 percent return on investment and almost double the national average return on investments last year, the DPP officials said.
Given the close connections between the company’s directors and the KMT administration and its high profit rate, it would appear the KMT has engaged in insider trading, Liang said.
Lai dismissed Liang’s allegations and insisted the party wants to sell Central Investment Co via a public bidding.
Lai said there were no full-time KMT officials left on the firm’s board of directors and that the seven KMT members who managed the company did not hold any party office.
Reiterating that the KMT would handle the sale of the company in a public and transparent process, Lai said that under former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), the party had put its assets into a trust fund and invited experts to handle their management.
Handling the party assets was a major promise of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) when he first became the KMT chairman in 2005. He had promised to find a final solution to the party asset issue and said the party would no longer run any businesses once the issue had been resolved.
Central Investment Co was the last piece of KMT-owned business after it sold the building housing the Policy Research and Development for NT$4.3 billion and the China Television Co, the Broadcasting Corp of China and the Central Motion Picture Co to the China Times Group for NT$9.3 billion in 2005.
The party has failed in four separate tries to sell Central Investment Co — in 2006, February 2009, June last year and in January.
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 - Page 1
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said claims by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that it has placed all its party assets into a trust are false and urged it to improve transparency on the matter.
Citing the KMT’s annual financial report, DPP spokesmen told a press conference that the KMT had placed “worthless” assets into a trust and put together a team of party officials and confidantes to run its companies and gain “unreasonable profit” through insider trading.
The KMT only placed NT$2.24 million (US$77,700) — a fraction of its billions — into a trust, DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
“If the Financial Supervisory Commission does not launch an investigation into the ‘surrogate trust’ and ‘wallpaper trust,’ we do not rule out bringing the case to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Panel,” Chen said.
The KMT took over the assets of the Japanese colonial government and countless private businesses and individuals when it took control of Taiwan, a move many of its detractors have described as outright theft. It pledged in 2005 to sell all its assets, which had made it the richest political party in the world.
However, the DPP said the KMT’s annual financial report shows it has failed to deliver on its promise.
The KMT placed the US$24 million (based on the 1949 exchange rate) in public debt issued by the nationalist government in China before it fled to Taiwan in 1949 into trust on March 26, 2001, DPP spokesman Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
Auditors of the KMT report said that by law, the debt could not be sold, he said, adding: “In other words, the bonds are probably as worthless as wallpaper.”
Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) placed NT$2 billion into a trust in 2001, including the public debt and NT$13 billion in cash, Chuang said, but the cash fell to NT$2.49 million in 2005 and NT$2.23 million since 2006.
The NT$2.23 million account for an estimated 0.01 percent of the KMT’s total assets, Chuang said.
“We wonder where all that money has gone,” Chuang said, adding the KMT has been lying to Taiwanese.
Controversy surrounding the Central Investment Holding Co (中央投資), a company with a net worth of about NT$20 billion, resurfaced after data published by the Ministry of Interior on Friday showed that the company’s stock dividends accounted for almost NT$2.9 billion last year and made up more than four-fifths of the KMT’s total earnings.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) had said on Friday that the party did put most of its assets into a trust and that it would sell Central Investment Holding Co, the last of its most controversial assets, via a transparent process.
However, DPP spokesman Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said all seven members of the company’s board of directors were former KMT members or professionals with strong ties to the party. Auditors have listed the company, as well as its spin-off, “Hsinyutai Co” (欣裕台股份有限公司), as long-term investment projects, which means they are still run like a private company, he said.
The two companies invested NT$18 billion on the local stock market last year and received NT$2.9 billion in dividends, a 16 percent return on investment and almost double the national average return on investments last year, the DPP officials said.
Given the close connections between the company’s directors and the KMT administration and its high profit rate, it would appear the KMT has engaged in insider trading, Liang said.
Lai dismissed Liang’s allegations and insisted the party wants to sell Central Investment Co via a public bidding.
Lai said there were no full-time KMT officials left on the firm’s board of directors and that the seven KMT members who managed the company did not hold any party office.
Reiterating that the KMT would handle the sale of the company in a public and transparent process, Lai said that under former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), the party had put its assets into a trust fund and invited experts to handle their management.
Handling the party assets was a major promise of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) when he first became the KMT chairman in 2005. He had promised to find a final solution to the party asset issue and said the party would no longer run any businesses once the issue had been resolved.
Central Investment Co was the last piece of KMT-owned business after it sold the building housing the Policy Research and Development for NT$4.3 billion and the China Television Co, the Broadcasting Corp of China and the Central Motion Picture Co to the China Times Group for NT$9.3 billion in 2005.
The party has failed in four separate tries to sell Central Investment Co — in 2006, February 2009, June last year and in January.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
KMT still hopes to work with PFP
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 - Page 1
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is still confident that collaboration with the People First Party (PFP) in next year’s presidential and legislative elections is possible, and it is willing to withdraw a lawsuit against PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to show its goodwill, the party said yesterday.
“The KMT still has high expectations and confidence of eventual pan-blue camp cooperation in the upcoming elections,” KMT Secretary-General Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) told a hastily called press conference after Soong suggested in an interview published yesterday that the PFP would break off relations with the KMT.
Soong announced on Sunday and reiterated in an interview yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that the PFP would contest seats in the legislative elections.
Soong was also quoted as saying that he was contemplating three options: To run as a district legislative candidate; to put himself on the PFP’s legislator-at-large roster; or to enter the presidential race.
Soong’s candidacy in the presidential election has been seen as a potential spoiler for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is neck-and-neck with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in most opinion polls.
The PFP’s nominations in various districts across the country — possibly more than 15 according to the party — could also jeopardize the KMT’s chances in the legislative elections.
One of the main obstacles that prevented a meeting between the two party chairmen from being organized was the lawsuit filed by King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), executive director of Ma’s campaign office, against Soong, who accused King of staging fraudulent public opinion polls during Soong’s 2000 presidential campaign.
Soong has always said that the poll results, which falsely favored then-vice president and KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰), were one of the key factors for his narrow loss to DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) by 300,000 votes.
The KMT did not consult the PFP before or during its nomination process of the 73 single-member districts, making cooperation more difficult, Soong said.
King does not rule out withdrawing the suit if both sides are able to “clear the misunderstanding,” Liao quoted King as saying, but added that King would not apologize to Soong.
The PFP chairman is still hesitant about a meeting with Ma because it could create the misconception that the PFP, as a smaller party, was trying to “blackmail” the KMT.
However, Ma has never ceased efforts to contact and communicate with Soong, instructing KMT officials to visit the PFP as early as late March, Liao said.
The PFP subsequently issued a four-point statement last night, stating that the party reaffirmed its participation in the legislative elections, but it neither wanted to “declare war” with any political party nor further engage in rhetoric about the interparty meeting.
The DPP declined to elaborate on Soong’s possible entry in the elections.
“In a democratic society, Soong’s decision should be respected [by everyone]. President Ma will probably be more suited to answer this question since Soong’s next move is expected to pose a greater impact on his campaign,” Tsai said on the sidelines of a campaign event yesterday morning.
The DPP remains confident about winning the presidential election, she said.
The DPP has been observing how the PFP situation is unfolding, Tsai’s campaign spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said, adding that the party would neither actively contact nor initiate any arrangement with the PFP.
Ma would not be where he is today, facing a potential challenge from Soong, if he had not created this opportunity for Soong, Hsu said.
Three years after the PFP opted to collaborate with the KMT in elections, its party chairman has re-emerged with a different mindset and vision this time, Hsu said.
“Apparently, he [Soong] is not happy with Ma’s performance. He felt that he had to step up because the president only brags about his accomplishments, but is not held accountable,” Hsu said.
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