Everything about Republic Of China Presidential Election 2008 totally explained
The
election for the 12th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China was held in the
Republic of China (Taiwan) on Saturday,
March 22,
2008.
Kuomintang (KMT) nominee
Ma Ying-jeou won, with 58% of the vote, ending eight years of
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule. Along with the
2008 legislative election, Ma's landslide victory brought the Kuomintang back to power in Taiwan.
This was the fourth direct election for the
President of the Republic of China. The two candidates were DPP candidate
Frank Hsieh and
Kuomintang (KMT) nominee
Ma Ying-jeou. The KMT ticket was officially formed as of June 23, 2007, with Ma announcing his choice for running mate to be former premier
Vincent Siew. The DPP ticket was announced in August, 2007, with Frank Hsieh selecting former Premier
Su Tseng-chang. Unlike the
2004 presidential election, the political rhetoric of the campaigns tended to focus on
economic issues and
government corruption rather than
national identity and the
political status of Taiwan, with both candidates endorsing the status quo in the short term.. But much like previous elections, this election was also marked with island-wide mass rallies and much political mudslinging.
The KMT ticket received a larger percentage and more votes than any other candidate in the previous three direct presidential elections. The election occurred as incumbent President
Chen Shui-bian's popularity remained at record lows following
mass rallies in September 2006 urging him to resign amid implications of corruption. Amid general economic malaise, as unemployment had risen under Chen's presidency and Taiwan's overall
GDP was surpassed by that of
South Korea, Ma won on a platform of economic revitalization and a promise to improve
cross-straits relations, in contrast to Chen's confrontational style, as "a peacemaker not a troublemaker".. The election occurred in the wake of the KMT's landslide victory in the
2008 legislative elections in which the
Pan-Blue Coalition won a three-quarters majority in the
Legislative Yuan. On the same day
two referenda on joining the
United Nations, the first supported by the DPP of President Chen and the second supported by the KMT, failed due to low turnout. Prior to the vote, the KMT had encouraged its supporters to boycott the DPP referendum, and expressed its "understanding" if supporters boycotted both.
Presidential nominees
Candidates were to register with their respective parties March 5-9, 2007, for a primary election. Selection of candidates for President in the Republic of China, unlike most other nations, were weighed. The actual primary election results accounted for 30% of the final outcome while public opinion polls accounted for the other 70%. Final tallies were announced
May 30,
2007.
Democratic Progressive Party
Leading candidates for the
Democratic Progressive Party "
Four Heavenly Kings" (a less literal translation in English that perhaps gives the meaning more clearly is the "Four Heavyweights") sans incumbent President
Chen Shui-bian (who was barred from running due to
term limits)—
Frank Hsieh,
Su Tseng-chang, and
Yu Shyi-kun—and incumbent vice president
Annette Lu. All three of the men had served as
premier under Chen Shui-bian and as DPP chairman during part of the Chen presidency. In addition, Hsieh has been a popular mayor of
Kaohsiung, Su has been county magistrate of
Taipei County and
Pingtung County, and Yu served as Secretary-General in the Office of the President.
On
May 6,
2007, the DPP primaries took place in all 24 cities and counties in Taiwan. There were 254,963 eligible voters, with voter turnout at 56.06%.. Former premier
Frank Hsieh emerged as the winner of the DPP primaries, winning 17 of 24 cities and counties with 62,849 votes, about 44% of the votes cast. Despite the fact that the primary results only account for 30% of the final outcome in determining the nominee, fellow DPP candidates Su, who got 46,994 votes; Yu, with 22,211 votes; and Lu with 8,666 votes, endorsed Hsieh before the second stage primary, based on opinion polls, was held, causing the DPP to cancel the second stage primary..
The junior partner in the
pan-green coalition, the
Taiwan Solidarity Union, neither fielded nor endorsed a candidate. TSU Chairman
Shu Chin-Chiang seemingly endorsed Ma on September 19, 2007 when he referred to Ma as "our President-to-be." At the same time, several TSU legislators stated that they'd support DPP candidate
Frank Hsieh. In December,
Lee Teng-hui, considered the "spiritual leader" of the TSU, rescinded his support of Chen in 2004, and urged citizens against voting for the DPP in upcoming legislative elections. While Lee openly denounced supporting the ruling DPP party, he stopped short of endorsing any party or candidate and waited until March 20, 2008 (two days before the election) to endorse Hsieh.
Kuomintang
Following the KMT's defeat in 2004 and before the
2005 KMT chairman election, Taipei Mayor
Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Yuan President
Wang Jin-pyng were both considered leading candidates for the nomination. Ma's landslide victory over Wang in the 2005 KMT chairman election immediately made him the frontrunner. His position was furthered bolstered by the KMT's victories in the
2005 3-in-1 local elections. Ma Ying-jeou began his campaign before his announcement for candidacy, taking trips Europe and Japan in 2006, nominally to obtain business deals for Taipei, but covered widely by the media for his foreign policy remarks. He met with numerous politicians in Washington, DC, including U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Robert Zoellick. Significantly, Ma Ying-jeou became the first head of a pan-Blue coalition party to state that declaring
de jure Taiwanese independence was a legitimate choice of the Taiwanese people, though he qualified it saying that this wasn't a position of the KMT, after receiving much criticism from pan-Blue politicians. He also stated that Taiwan should form a common market with mainland China and establish
direct transportation links.
On
February 13,
2007 Ma was indicted for misuse of official funds as Taipei Mayor and announced his candidacy as he resigned the KMT chairmanship. He was formally nominated as the KMT candidate in
May 2, 2007. Wang didn't run against Ma and Ma was virtually unopposed. Final approval of the nomination was passed by the KMT congress in June.. Wang was an early frontrunner to be Ma's running-mate but declined the position absent of assurances from Ma of what responsibilities he'd hold as vice president. Other leading candidates were
Wu Tun-yi, incumbent KMT general secretary;
Jason Lin, CEO of Uni-President Group; and
Tsai Ing-wen, a DPP member and former vice-premier.On
June 23,
2007, Ma officially announced former premier and former vice-presidential candidate (in 2000)
Vincent Siew as his running mate, praising Siew's economic experience and declaring the economy to be the central focus of his campaign.
Neither the
New Party nor the
People First Party, junior partners of the KMT in the "
Pan-Blue Coalition," fielded a candidate and endorsed the KMT ticket. PFP Chairman
James Soong appeared at KMT headquarters once Ma's victory became apparent and pledged to dissolve the PFP to join the KMT.
Issues
The Economy
Since selecting Vincent Siew as his running mate, Ma Ying-jeou has announced that the focus of his election campaign is the recovery of Taiwanese economy. He has said that the
independence—
reunification debate is a "fake issue" with no bearing on the general welfare of the Taiwanese people. He also labeled Siew as the would-be "chief architect" to revive the economy, because of Siew's solid economic background.
Ma proposes a
single market with China; Hsieh said this would lead to job losses and importation of
dangerous Chinese products.
Corruption
The investigations into alleged misuse of funds by members of both the KMT and DPP is another hot topic.
The KMT attempted to capitalize on Ma's trustworthy image, which stemed from his investigations into vote-buying within his own party while he served as Justice Minister in the early 1990s. Ma was removed as Justice Minister and in the mid-1990s his political career was considered to be over due to what some thought was his zealous investigation of corruption. However, Ma Ying-Jeou was indicted on charges of misusing his Mayoral funds, and the First Lady has been indicted for embezzling from a national account (President Chen is immune from any charges as the law gives a sitting president immunity). DPP candidate Frank Hsieh is under investigation for similar charges as Ma in irregularity and misuse of funds while he served as mayor of Kaohsiung. In addition, President
Chen Shui-Bian suffered a large loss in popularity due to corruption allegations concerning his family.
The funds that Ma was accused of misusing are those belonging to a special account intended for funding personal expenses related to official duties. Ma moved half of the funds of those accounts into his personal accounts, and his defense was that this practice was standard among government officials include both KMT and DPP officials, including Frank Hsieh.
However, different from Ma, Frank Hsieh has stated that if he's found guilty in his Mayoral funds case, he won't continue running as a candidate for president. Ma has maintained his innocence and has stated that he won't give up his run for presidency even if found guilty. Ma, on
August 12,
2007, was found not guilty on his special funds case, clearing his name of corruption charges.
Status of Taiwan
As is common with Taiwanese elections, an important issue in the election was the future of the
political status of Taiwan and maintaining good
cross-straits relations. In general, the DPP favors
Taiwan independence; the KMT on the other hand, is willing to accept the one-China principle and believes that Taiwan will eventually
unify with mainland China; however the KMT still regards ROC as the sole legitimate government of China. The KMT's main objective is to establish a closer economic relationship with mainland China. Unlike the DPP, it's much more flexible in terms of diplomatic rhetoric. It was widely recognized that no candidate could win without supporting the
status quo of de facto autonomy and ambiguous legal status (as they did in 2004) in order to attract centrist voters. Also, in 2004, both mainstream candidates recognized eventual unification and independence as a possible option as a means to attract the center. The strategy of both sides, as was the case in 2004, was to persuade voters that it can best maintain the status quo and protect Taiwan from an invasion by the
People's Republic of China.
While the smaller, more radical TSU favors immediate moves to rename the country as
Republic of Taiwan, the much more mainstream DPP under Chen Shui-bian has taken a
more moderate position regarding independence. At the same time the Chen administration has moved to promote a
separate Taiwanese identity and give official recognition to Taiwan's de facto independence from the mainland such as by
equating Taiwan with the Republic of China. The front-runners for the DPP nomination are all considered moderates like Chen Shui-bian.
The KMT party line is against
one country, two systems, but is supporting dialogue with the
Communist Party of China under the "
1992 Consensus" which presumes
one China, different interpretations. During the campaign, Ma articulated a
three noes policy, no independence, no unification, no use of force. He has also stated that during his first term of office, he won't discuss unification, make no changes to the ROC constitution, and won't personally meet
Hu Jintao.
The DPP, in contrast, opposes recognizing
One China (a prerequisite set by the PRC for negotiations), and no talks have occurred under the Chen administration. The DPP also denies that there ever was a consensus in 1992. The KMT also supports immediately opening up the
three links with mainland China. The DPP has been reluctant to implement this, with additional difficulty coming from the PRC's refusal to negotiate unless the Taiwanese counterparty accepts the one-China principle under the 1992 consensus.
Constitutional reform
President Chen Shui-bian had pledged in his second inaugural address to draft a new
constitution by 2006 to take effect upon the inauguration of the 12th-term president in 2008. This is opposed by the Pan-Blue Coalition, which seeks only changes through amendments to the existing document. A
constitutional reform package was passed in 2005 with cross-party support, while the "Constitutional Reform Committee" proposed by President Chen to draft the new Constitution has never been formed. It appears, that with Pan-Blue controlling the
Legislative Yuan until at least 2012 (commanding a 75% majority beginning February 2008, following the
2008 legislative election) and few actions being taken by the president for drafting a new Constitution, there will be no new Constitution for 2008.
Use of the "Taiwan" name
Recently, some state-controlled and state-owned firms have restored or added "Taiwan" to their names, such as renaming Chunghwa Post to
Taiwan Post, the name it bore into the ROC period of rule on Taiwan; and Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport to
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, its originally planned name. The naming controversy of the
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the legality of the Central Government's name-change order is another topic of heated debate. Conservative observers tend to view the name changes as signs of reactionary
desinicization carried out by President Chen to appease his base supporters, while others view the name changing as signs of
Taiwan localization movement carving an identity for Taiwan's name. The issue is, like most others, split strongly between Pan-Blue and Pan-Green supporters.
President-Elect
Ma Ying-jeou has pledged that he'll revert the name changes of national landmarks, government organizations, and government-owned corporations conducted by the Chen Shui-bian administration. The Pan-Blue generally considered these name changes to be illegal because they were done through administrative orders bypassing the Pan-Blue dominated legislature. Examples of landmarks and organizations that were renamed include
Chiang Kai-shek International Airport,
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall,
Chinese Petroleum Company,
China Shipbuilding Corporation, and
Chunghwa Post.
Green card issue
A recent issue that has been brought into the presidential campaign is the questioning of
Ma Ying-jeou's loyalty to the Republic of China and to the people of Taiwan by his opponent
Frank Hsieh and the
Democratic Progressive Party legislators. Hsieh stated that Ma wouldn't have become former President
Chiang Ching-kuo's English secretary in 1977 if Chiang had known that Ma was in possession of a
green card and his status as a US permanent resident. He also stated that he hadn't violated any law by possessing a US green card and that he never intended to hide the fact he was once a US permanent resident. He also maintained that possession of a green card, as well as having the status as a US permanent resident, wasn't against any government regulations at the time.
Hsieh office incident
Four pan-blue legislators attempted to enter the Hsieh election headquarters without permission, with the reason that they were there to investigate the claim that the government provided them office space for free. Hsieh's supporters surrounded them and blocked them as they tried to leave; fighting broke out. The pan-green called it an illegal search and said the pan-blue camp will carry out further similar actions if they controlled both the executive and legislature.
The legislators were labeled the "Four Idiots"(四個笨蛋) by the media and suspended from the party. Ma apologized for their actions on six separate occasions.
It is illegal to publish opinion polls in the ten days leading up to the election, but gambling syndicates changed their offering to "Ma wins by 200,000 votes" bets, down from "Ma wins by 500,000 votes" bets before the incident.
Chuang Guo-rong's profanity incident
On
March 16,
2008, standing for DPP candidate
Frank Hsieh at a rally in
Taichung,
Chuang Kuo-jung, a deputy secretary for the Department of Education, called Ma Ying-jeou a "chicken" and further insulted his father and family. He mentioned a recent discovery by a magazine investigation that Ma's father
Ma Ho-ling was proven to have slept with his foster daughter in the past. This drew the wrath of the Taiwanese public. With more investigations by Taiwanese broadcasting channels, the claims were deemed fake. DPP officials felt that the wording used by Chuang was insulting and inappropriate, and therefore, publicly apologized for Chuang's uncalled for and profane remarks. His speech was ridden with distaste and foul language deemed inappropriate for broadcast television, and had to be censored by NCC. Chuang initially resigned from his post as secretary of the Ministry of Education without an apology. Minister Tu accepted the resignations, after reservations. The next day, Chuang issued a formal apology through media.
Meanwhile, Chuang may have jeopardized his teaching position at the
National Chengchi University, as a discussion panel consisting of NCCU students, faculty, and alumni will decide whether to keep him or sack him in the days following the 322 elections.
Impact of unrest in Tibet
In mid-March, 2008, a series of riots occurred in
Tibetan areas of
mainland China. This, and the subsequent response of the
Beijing authorities had repercussions in the lead-up to the Taiwan election. A series of public prayers, organised by Buddhist leaders, were held in Taiwan. Frank Hsieh attended the event in person, and Ma Ying-Jeou sent representatives to attend the event. The next day, Ma Ying-Jeou was attacked by the pan-Green and pro-Tibetan camps for not having a solid stance for supporting Tibetan autonomy.
Ma Ying-jeou was initially quoted as saying that "[i]t is still unknown who is responsible for the bloodshed in Tibet, the Chinese government or the Tibetans." After media furore built up over the comments, Ma Ying-Jeou retracted his earlier statements. He made further statements, going further than Frank Hsieh in criticizing the mainland government. He stated that if violence in Tibet continues, he couldn't rule out a Taiwanese boycott of the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Frank Hsieh refused to make the same commitment, and accused Ma of jeopardizing the hopes of the
Chinese Taipei team.
Tens of thousands of Taiwanese waved banners and shouted political slogans
March 16,
2008, as the island's rival parties rallied support ahead of the
March 22,
2008 presidential elections, with the March 2008
violence in Tibet in the background and Taiwan's own relations with the
Chinese mainland on the front burner. The Taiwan-wide events were meant to energize supporters in the home stretch of a race that has so far lacked the passion and commitment of presidential elections in
2000 and
2004.
Opinion polling
Opinion polls were held by various news agencies and organizations in Taiwan during the election campaign. Before the election, the last of such polls was published on
March 11 2008 because, according to ROC law, opinion polls couldn't be published within ten days of the election. However, polls can still be taken during the ten days.
Note: It is important to note that in terms of political orientation, TVBS, United Daily News, and China Times are considered Pan-Blue and pro-unification, while sources such as South News are considered Pan-Green and pro-independence.
Republic of China law also prohibits the publishing of any new opinion polling data in the last ten days leading up to the election.
† Numbers published by Global Views are calculated from a campaign indicator model.
Mechanics
The election was by direct popular vote; a simple plurality was required to win. According to the
Constitution of the Republic of China, all citizens of the
Republic of China of at least 20 years of age who have held
household registration in the "
Free Area of the Republic of China" (
Taiwan,
Penghu,
Kinmen,
Matsu, etc.) were eligible to vote. Under existing law, all voters travelled to their registered precincts to vote. Ballots were counted by hand at the precincts and the KMT declared victory less than three hours after the close of polls at 4:00 pm.
Because of KMT strategy of having people boycott the referendum, one major controversy, like in 2004 was the format of the polling, specifically as whether the referendum questions would be on the same or different ballots as the Presidency. While in 2004 the CEC allowed U shaped line in which people would first cast a ballot for President and then cast a separate ballot for each of the two questions, the CEC forced voters to cast all votes at once on separate ballots. Voters who choose not to cast a referendum ballot simply declined to pick up the extra two ballots.
Election results
Polls closed at 16:00 local time (UTC+8) on March 22, 2008. The end result, with all 14,401 precincts reporting, shows a landslide victory for the KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou over the DPP candidate Frank Hsieh, with 7,659,014 votes, 58.45% of the popular vote for Ma against 5,444,949 votes, 41.55% for Hsieh. Turnout was 76.33%, with 13.2 million votes from 17.3 million eligible voters. The CEC has released the final results with 100% of precincts reporting. Taiwan voters overwhelmingly elected
Kuomintang candidate
Ma Ying-jeou to be president, and the primary concern may be more economic than political: One local media commentator quoted
Bill Clinton's famous slogan,
"It's the economy, stupid", as an explanation of the landslide victory for Ma. There is also a sizeable number of Taiwanese who would prefer maintaining the status quo, a position favoured by Ma when he proclaimed that he'd "not push for Taiwan independence or reunification with China if elected".
Results by county
| Division |
Frank Hsieh |
Ma Ying-jeou |
Invalid
ballots |
Vote
difference |
| Candidates |
Percentage |
| 50.0 - 59.9% |
60.0 - 69.9% |
70.0 - 79.9% |
80.0 - 100.0% |
| Ma | |
|
|
|
| Hsieh | |
|
|
|
|
| Votes |
% |
Votes |
% |
| Taipei City | |
36.97% |
1,011,546 |
63.03% |
12,807 |
418,290
|
| Taipei County | |
38.94% |
1,359,419 |
61.06% |
21,169 |
493,084
|
| Keelung City | |
32.27% |
152,327 |
67.73% |
1,701 |
79,765
|
| Yilan County | |
48.58% |
130,951 |
51.42% |
1,991 |
7,251
|
| Taoyuan County | |
35.36% |
693,602 |
64.64% |
10,330 |
314,186
|
| Hsinchu County | |
25.98% |
208,445 |
74.02% |
2,723 |
135,267
|
| Hsinchu City | |
35.30% |
145,930 |
64.70% |
2,036 |
65,756
|
| Miaoli County | |
29.01% |
227,069 |
70.99% |
2,974 |
134,274
|
| Taichung County | |
41.16% |
505,698 |
58.84% |
8,761 |
151,992
|
| Taichung City | |
38.26% |
365,979 |
61.74% |
5,836 |
139,228
|
| Changhua County | |
42.41% |
419,700 |
57.59% |
7,558 |
110,566
|
| Nantou County | |
37.97% |
179,630 |
62.03% |
2,467 |
69,675
|
| Yunlin County | 199,558 |
51.53% |
187,705 |
48.47% |
3,451 |
11,853
|
| Chiayi County | 166,833 |
54.44% |
139,603 |
45.56% |
2,936 |
27,230
|
| Chiayi City | |
47.61% |
79,713 |
52.39% |
1,154 |
7,271
|
| Tainan County | 354,409 |
56.15% |
276,751 |
43.85% |
5,614 |
77,658
|
| Tainan City | |
49.29% |
223,034 |
50.71% |
3,843 |
6,219
|
| Kaohsiung City | |
48.41% |
469,252 |
51.59% |
7,112 |
28,885
|
| Kaohsiung County | 373,900 |
51.41% |
353,333 |
48.59% |
5,859 |
20,567
|
| Pingtung County | 249,795 |
50.25% |
247,305 |
49.75% |
3,823 |
2,490
|
| Hualien County | |
22.52% |
137,604 |
77.48% |
1,970 |
97,601
|
| Taitung County | |
26.68% |
81,668 |
73.32% |
977 |
51,954
|
| Penghu County | |
42.07% |
25,037 |
57.93% |
363 |
6,856
|
| Kinmen County | |
4.87% |
33,384 |
95.13% |
172 |
31,674
|
| Lienchiang County | |
4.84% |
4,329 |
95.16% |
19 |
4,109
|
Reactions
Domestic reactions
In various KMT headquarters throughout Taiwan, celebrations of the party's landslide victory took place. The largest event was located at the Main KMT Headquarters in Taipei. Former Chairman
Lien Chan, Legislative Yuan Speaker
Wang Jin-pyng, Chairman
Wu Po-hsiung were presented and celebrated with the large crowd. At 7:30 pm, Presidential-elect Ma Ying-jeou came out and spoke about what is expected of his new government when it begins office on
May 20 2008.
Many DPP supporters were very disappointed with the results of the election. Various DPP members went on stage at the Central Headquarters in Taipei and apologised to the Taiwanese people. Runner-up Presidential candidate Frank Hsieh spoke about how even though they've lost the elections, they still have a job to do: to preserve democracy in Taiwan. They ended the day by bowing down to the crowd.
After a press conference on
March 23 where Ma stated that he'll work to open up the
Three Links and improve cross-strait relations, Taiwan's stock market saw a large rise. The accumulated index jumped 534 points to 9049. 1100 listed companies saw their share prices rise. Of these, financial stocks all rose to trading limit levels, with transportation companies, speculated to benefit from improved relations with mainland China, also quickly reaching price rise limits. Other sectors that saw strong rises include large conglomerates, real property, electronics and technology.
PRC reactions
Consistently with its silence before the election, the PRC government refrained from commenting directly on the election results, and PRC media, which follows instructions on reporting from the government, has been very quiet as to the result of the elections. Also consistently with its behaviour before the election, the Taiwan Affairs Bureau of the
State Council of the People's Republic of China commented on the failure of the two
United Nations-related referenda held concurrently with the election, stating that the results showed the lack of popular support for independence in Taiwan. The Bureau also expressed optimism for the two governments to work together to maintain cross-strait peace and aid development in future. It is speculated that the mainland government would be pleased with the result.
While also refraining from commenting directly on the results, the
People's Daily, the official newspaper of the
Communist Party of China prominently displayed the election results, including the photos and brief biographies of the winning candidates, on its website. This, speculated
Hong Kong's
Ming Pao, showed signs of positive interaction between the two governments in future.
Other reactions
Singapore was the first country to send official congratulatory messages about the election results. It has since been the only country to do so together with the
United States. China has thus far not responded to these messages.
- : Known to have good relations with both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement to congratulate Dr Ma Ying-jeou on his election, saying "As a long-standing friend of Taiwan, Singapore will continue to maintain good relations with Taiwan based on our 'One China' policy.' We look forward to better cross-strait relations."
- : President George W. Bush congratulated Ma Ying-jeou on his election victory, saying the United States will "continue to maintain close unofficial ties with the people on Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan in accordance with our long standing one China policy, our three Joint Communiqués with the People's Republic of China, and the Taiwan Relations Act."
- : Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier issued a press release on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade website congratulating Ma Ying-jeou and also complimented the "smooth and orderly" electoral process, "demonstrating that democracy is laying down strong roots." Furthermore he stated: "I also welcome Ma Ying-jeou’s central election commitment to improve cross-strait relations with China. This is consistent with Canada’s long-standing position that advocates for peaceful dialogue between the concerned parties."
Most other countries chose to issue general statements without specifically congratulating anyone:
: German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier stated "The German government hails the election in Taiwan. Germany supports the democratic values of Taiwan and the economic development of the island". He also said that he hoped for a "peaceful dialogue" between Taipei and Beijing.
: Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura says that "Japan hopes that the issue surrounding Taiwan will be resolved peacefully by direct dialogue between the parties concerned on the Taiwan Straits and that dialogue will resume soon for that purpose", while avoiding to evaluate the election results directly. He further stressed that Japan "intends to maintain Japan-Taiwan relations as a working relationship on a non-governmental basis".
: Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued a statement on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website saying "The successful Presidential elections in Taiwan today are testament to Taiwan's vibrant democracy. The forthcoming change of administration is a real opportunity to renew efforts to improve cross-Strait relations. I hope that the Chinese Government and the new administration will now engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and find a peaceful solution to the Taiwan question, acceptable to the populations on both sides of the Straits."Further Information
Get more info on 'Republic Of China Presidential Election 2008'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://republic_of_china_presidential_election__2008.totallyexplained.com">Republic of China presidential election, 2008 Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
