DPP's Lai unfazed by emerging united opposition presidential ticket
ROC Central News Agency
11/16/2023 11:04 PM
Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Thursday urged his supporters to keep the faith and expressed confidence in their ability to secure victory in January's election, amid an emerging unified opposition involving the three other presidential hopefuls.
"My team is undoubtedly the most steadfast and capable when it comes to uniting the nation to safeguard the Republic of China (Taiwan)," Lai, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told his supporters at a campaign rally in Taoyuan.
In the face of China's attempted interference in the election, "we must stand firm," said Lai, who, according to DPP sources, will name Taiwan's top representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) as his running mate on Nov. 20.
Lai made the remarks after it was alleged in some quarters that China played a role in forging collaboration between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and uniting their candidates on a joint presidential ticket.
The KMT and the DPP agreed to unite against the DPP during a party-to-party meeting Wednesday, with either the KMT's Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) or TPP's Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) heading the ticket to be decided based on public opinion polls from Nov. 7-17.
The meeting came after former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT on Nov. 10 stepped in to facilitate collaboration following a visit by his assistant, Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), to Beijing on Nov. 2-5, which sparked speculation that China was behind the KMT-TPP joint presidential ticket deal, though only after the agreed joint ticket was announced.
Hsiao's trip was first disclosed by Taiwan's Mirror Media on Nov. 15, with the report saying he was among a group of 40 international guests at Beijing Forum and allegedly met with officials from China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).
In remarks on Wednesday, Hsiao denied he engaged in any activity organized by or affiliated with China's TAO, or meeting any TAO officials, during his trip to Beijing and said that the Beijing Forum is an event for academic exchanges.
Lai stated that given the widespread coverage in local and international media of China's efforts to interfere in Taiwan's election in favor of a "pro-China" regime, it is perplexing to see the KMT and TPP still agree to join forces and discuss power-sharing arrangements.
That not only shows they lack democratic spirit but also demonstrates a disregard for the will of the people, Lai said.
Neither the KMT nor the TPP's stance on cross-strait relations is in line with mainstream opinion in Taiwan, which is to safeguard national security, he said, adding that teaming up will not make them a better choice.
The near disappearance of Terry Gou (郭台銘) from public view since two facilities of Foxconn -- the world's largest Apple iPhone maker he founded -- came under investigation by Chinese authorities for tax evasion, has also been seen as an example of Chinese efforts to intervene in the election.
It has been interpreted by some political commentators as a warning for Gou not to stand in the way of opposition party unity, a view voiced by Mainland Affairs Council head Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who told lawmakers on Oct. 31 that Beijing was telling Gou not to continue his campaign.
According to the agreement reached by the KMT and the TPP, the order of the joint ticket will be announced on Nov. 18 based on the rules to which the two parties agreed.
Meanwhile, Ko on Thursday said he will continue to talk to Gou about joining forces, noting that Gou is likely to garner about 10 percent of votes.
Gou has not made any public comment in response to the KMT-TPP joint ticket, but Chen Chia-yi (陳家頤), one of his spokespeople, said in a radio interview that there is still room for talks on cooperation before the deadline to register presidential candidacies on Nov. 24.
(By Wu Jui-chi, Chen Yu-ting, and Shih Hsiu-chuan)
Enditem/AW
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