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DPP urges
clarification of King’s comments
OUT OF PLACE: The DPP said it was the place of
the president to announce major cross-strait policies, not his ‘spoiled’
campaign manager King Pu-tsung
By Chris Wang and Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporters
Democratic Progressive Party
vice-presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan, speaking at the party’s campaign
headquarters in Taipei -yesterday, accuses President Ma Ying-jeou of not
fulfilling his campaign pledges.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
A war of words over a remark by President
Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) executive campaign director King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) in the US
continued yesterday, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) requesting that
the Ma camp provide clear answers on the matter.
“We demand that President Ma publicly explain who King speaks for and why a
campaign manager could speak on major national security issues,” DPP spokesman
Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said, referring to King’s comments on cross-strait relations
in the US.
King — who is in the middle of a 12-day US trip — when asked whether Ma plans to
visit China if he wins a second term in January’s presidential election said in
an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television in Washington
that “there is a possibility.”
His comments prompted a strong rebuke from DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文),
who accused King of breaching government protocol by discussing cross-strait
policies, which she said should be announced only by the president.
King also talked about a possible cross-strait peace accord in a press
conference in Washington, saying that “if it serves Taiwan’s interests, why
not?”
“How can a campaign manager represent the president and speak on major policy on
foreign soil?” Liang asked.
King’s subsequent explanation that the comments were only his “personal
observations” was not acceptable because the issues are highly sensitive and
could cause incorrect expectations from the Chinese, Liang said.
Several Taiwanese academics have been contacted by their Chinese counterparts,
who wanted to know whether King’s comments represent Taiwan’s future China
policy, he said.
Ma has spoiled King for too long simply because of their relationship, DPP
spokesman Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said, adding that Ma should clarify King’s
comments as president.
Through such comments during his US visit, King has successfully diverted the
media attention away from DPP presidential candidate Tsai, DPP Legislator Huang
Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said.
Tsai arrived in Washington yesterday for a nine-day visit. Her arrival was
delayed because her trans-Pacific flight had to return to Japan about 90 minutes
after takeoff when a passenger suffered a heart attack.
Huang said King’s comments were a breach of protocol and comments on major
policy should have been made by government spokespeople, not a campaign manager
who holds no public position. King does not even hold an official position in
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Huang said.
In a statement, the Presidential Office said Ma had no plans to visit China, nor
engage in political negotiations with China because the “time is not ripe.”
“Tackling the easier and more urgent issues before moving on to more difficult
and less pressing ones remains the principle for cross-strait negotiations.
Economic issues precede political ones,” the statement said.
Presidential Office Spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said there was no
urgency for political negotiations across the Taiwan Strait and that the Ma
administration did not set a timetable for any political dialogue with China.
“President Ma also made it clear that he would only make official foreign
visits, regardless of the purpose of the visits, as the Republic of China
president,” he said.
At a different setting yesterday, Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), the deputy executive
director of Ma’s campaign office, defended King’s authority to discuss the
development of cross-strait relations, urging the DPP to refrain from
manipulating the issue for election purposes.
“As a KMT member and a former KMT secretary-general, there’s nothing wrong with
Mr King discussing the possibility of cross-strait developments, as seeking to
sign a cross-strait peace agreement with China is a goal in the KMT’s
regulations,” he said.
Lo accused the DPP and Tsai of “illogically criticizing” King over his comments
on cross-strait policies and challenged Tsai to “restrain” former DPP chairmen
Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), two DPP campaign officials who often
comment on cross-strait policies and national affairs.
Playing a recording of King’s interview with Phoenix Television at a press
conference, Lo backed up King’s argument that the TV station quoted King “out of
context.”
“The DPP challenged King’s authority in commenting on cross-strait issues as a
distraction to prevent its own cross-strait policies from being examined,” he
said.
Meanwhile, DPP vice-presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) described Ma as a
“bounced-check president” and a “copycat president” during a press conference in
Taipei.
Ma made his famous “6-3-3” campaign pledge in 2008, which means his
administration would achieve annual GDP growth of 6 percent, an unemployment
rate of less than 3 percent and a per capita income of US$30,000.
“None of those has been achieved,” Su Jia-chyuan said.
One more pledge Ma has not lived up was his promise to donate 50 percent of his
salary if his administration failed in achieving the “6-3-3” goal, a promise Ma
delivered in a presidential debate, Tsai’s running mate added.
As the most powerful president in recent Taiwanese memory, with a majority in
the legislature, it would be difficult for Ma to find excuses for his failures,
Su Jia-chyuan said.
Ma’s “incompetence” does not end there, DPP legislative caucus whip Ker
Chien-ming (柯建銘) said, as the president so far “has tried to copy almost
everything the DPP has done.”
For example, he said, Ma’s campaign decided to “shadow” Tsai’s US visit with an
almost identical itinerary and it is ready to unveil its vision and policy for a
“golden decade,” which will likely look very similar to the DPP’s 10-year policy
guidelines.
“Electing Ma was a historical mistake and it is time for history to correct
itself,” Ker said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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