Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Following the debate between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) and independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the gap in support for the two men has grown. Apparently, the Lien family’s strategy of galvanizing its traditional core base by playing on pan-blue versus pan-green tensions has failed.

Polls have consistently placed Lien’s support rate at 30 percent or below. This is his core support base. It would make more sense for them to attract floating votes of the light-blue persuasion or the moderate swing vote. Trying to buy up voters with policy issues or instil a sense of crisis is no longer effective and could cause an even stronger counter-reaction.

Members of the Economic Democracy Union and other civic organizations raise their fists at a press conference in Taipei yesterday at which they accused the government of exaggerating the potential impact of the free-trade agreement between China and South Korea to force through cross-strait trade pacts.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

Several civic groups yesterday accused the government of exaggerating the potential impact of an impending free-trade agreement (FTA) between China and South Korea after the two countries’ leaders concluded talks on the accord at the APEC summit on Monday.

While the Presidential Office has said the agreement would allow South Korea to further outpace Taiwan in key economic sectors, critics say the government is overstating the impact of the treaty to force the passage of several cross-strait trade agreements and related legislation.