Politics

2 women to vie in Taiwan presidential election for 1st time

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-20
By: Ralph Jennings, Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s top two political parties have each nominated a woman for

Women dominate Taiwan presidential election. Taiwan News

president in 2016, a historic first signaling acceptance of female leadership and kicking off a campaign highlighted so far by clashing views on ties with rival China.

The ruling Nationalist Party on Sunday picked as its candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, a former teacher and the current deputy legislative speaker. Hung, who supports friendly relations with China, will run against Tsai Ing-wen, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party chairwoman and an advocate of more cautious relations with Beijing. Tsai leads in opinion polls ahead of January’s election.

Ties with Beijing, long icy but cordial since 2008, have shaped up as an early campaign issue.

Voters in Taiwan, which has been democratic since the late 1980s, have never elected a woman as president nor had a choice between two female candidates backed by the major parties. [FULL STORY]

DPP’s seemingly hints at possible running mate

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-19
By: Central News Agency

Kaohsiung, July 19 (CNA) On the day when the ruling Kuomintang officially picked its nominee for the 2016 presidential election, opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen appeared to indicate who her running mate might be.

Speaking at a gathering in Kaohsiung of the Asia Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (ASTCC), Tsai called Su Jia-chuyan, secretary-general of the DPP, as “my best partner.” Su is running for a legislative seat in the southern port city although the way Tsai introduced her running mate in the 2012 presidential election gave rise to some speculation on whether the two will be on the same ticket again. [FULL STORY]

DPP wants a ‘good-quality’ race in 2016

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/19
By: Lu Hsin-hui, Wu Je-hao and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, July 19 (CNA) The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said after the ruling

DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen

Kuomintang (KMT) nominated its presidential candidate on Sunday that it was hoping for a “good-quality” campaign ahead of the January 2016 presidential election.

“To the DPP and even Taiwan, the race is not just that of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文, the DPP’s presidential candidate), nor merely about who will be elected as president,” said DPP spokesman Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) in a statement after Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) was nominated by the KMT.

“There are more and more people who believe the country should have some changes, and hope the country can move forward instead of continuing to go backward,” Juan said, expressing the DPP’s hope for a political culture with rational and in-depth social dialogue. [FULL STORY]

‘1992 consensus’ written into KMT’s new party platform

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-19
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, July 19 (CNA) The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) has incorporated the “1992 consensus” into its party platform that was passed at the party’s national congress on Sunday. The KMT passed amendments to its policy guidelines during the meeting after officially nominating Hung Hsiu-chu as its candidate in next year’s presidential election.

The “1992 consensus” as understood by the KMT refers to a tacit agreement reached between Taiwan and China in 1992 that there is only one China with each side free to interpret its meaning. The KMT’s new policy guidelines include maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait by strengthening mutual trust between the two sides and pushing for the realization of the “five-point vision,” reached by then-KMT Chairman Lien Chan and then-Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao in 2005.

That vision calls for promoting cross-strait economic exchanges, the termination of cross-strait animosity and regular party-to-party communications platforms. [FULL STORY]

Hung Hsiu-chu to stress solidarity in KMT congress speech: spokesman

Want China Times
Date: 2015-07-19
By: CNA

Hung Hsiu-chu will address the importance of solidarity in her nomination speech after she is

Hung Hsiu-chu at a campaign activity in Kaohsiung, July 14. (File photo/Lu Su-li)

formally confirmed as the Kuomintang’s presidential candidate at its party congress on Sunday, Hung’s campaign office spokesman Yu Tzu-hsiang said Saturday.

In the five-minute speech, Hung will also touch on cross-strait relations, backing the party policy of adhering to the 1992 Consensus while avoiding her controversial “one China, common interpretation” formula for ties with China she proposed in June, Yu said.

The spokesman suggested that Hung and party headquarters have reached a mutual understanding on the contents of the speech Hung will deliver at the party gathering. [FULL STORY]

Taiwan’s mainland affairs chief meets scholars, media in U.S.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/18
By: Timothy Huang and Lillian Lin

New York, July 18 (CNA) Hsia Li-yan (夏立言), head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Minister Hsia Li-yan (L).

(MAC), told American scholars and media on Friday that he hoped exchanges and negotiations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will not be interrupted or changed because of next January’s presidential election.

Hsia attended two meetings at think tanks in New York, chaired respectively by Donald S. Zagoria, senior vice president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and Elizabeth Economy, director for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

As Taiwan’s top cross-Taiwan Strait relations policy planner, Hsia discussed the China policies of the presidential candidates of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and possible impact of the election result. [FULL STORY]

Chu rejects ‘hall of one voice’ criticism

PARTY PURGE:Eric Chu expelled five members from the KMT in the name of party unity, but four of them are likely to run against their former colleagues in January

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 18, 2015 – Page 3　
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter, with CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday rejected the “hall of

Lee Chang-chih, left, Jack Yu, center, and Hsu Chai-hsin, spokespeople from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) joint campaign office for the presidential and legislative elections, raise their fists and chant a slogan as they guide reporters on a tour of the campaign office in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

one voice” label attached to the party after it earlier this week revoked the memberships of five party members who often publicly criticized the party.

“The decision was necessary to uphold the party’s discipline. Party members can criticize the party, chairman, or any party leader, but they cannot undermine party unity,” Chu said.

Chu said that the most important purpose of the expulsion was to call on everyone to “unite as one,” to refrain from “waving a blue flag to oppose the blue flag,” or to “collude with the pan-green camp behind the pan-blue camp’s back.” [FULL STORY]

Chu calls for unity and teamwork within the KMT

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-15
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu called for unity and teamwork within the KMT in an

Chu calls for unity and teamwork within KMT. — Central News Agency

effort to compete for majority seats in next year’s legislative elections on January 16, reports said Wednesday.

KMT’s Evaluation and Disciplinary Commission has expelled five members, including a prominent legislator, reportedly for being too critical of the party.

Chu said it is about the right time party members warm up to the upcoming elections, reiterating that to secure a majority stake at the Legislative Yuan next year they must work together to win back voters.

The chairman said he already paid visits to party elders last week, including former chairman Lien Chan, Wu Po-hsiung, Wang Jin-pyng, and among others, and they all concurred with his call for unity. [FULL STORY]

Court upholds election of Pingtung County Council member

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/08
By: Kuo Tzu-hsuan and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) The Pingtung District Court on Wednesday upheld the election of

CNA file photo

Pingtung County Council member Hung Tzu-chien (洪慈綪) after finding that there was insufficient evidence to find her guilty of vote buying.

Hung and Chen Lung-chin (陳隆進), head of Liouciou Township in Pingtung County, had been indicted for buying votes to get elected in local government elections held in late November 2014.

Chen was found guilty of the charges in a separate trial earlier this week, and his election as Liouciou Township chief was invalidated. [FULL STORY]

Chinese official to avoid visiting Taiwan close to election day

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/08
By: Y.L Chou and Lillian Lin

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) Chen Deming (陳德銘), president of China’s Association for

ARATS president Chen Deming (CNA file photo)

Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), may visit Taiwan in the second half of this year but the date will not be too close to Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 16, 2016, a Straits Exchange (SEF) official said Wednesday.

SEF Vice Chairman Chou Jih-shine (周繼祥) could not offer a specific timetable for the visit, but he said Wednesday that preparations for the 11th cross-strait summit to be held by the two bodies, including the drafting of a tax agreement, are almost complete. [FULL STORY]

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