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2012 ELECTIONS: DPP
derides Ma’s ‘phony’ China claims
FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH: In an interview with the
BBC, Ma said he would not meet with China’s top leader if re-elected and said
KMT polls show him leading Tsai
By Lin Shu-hui / Staff Reporter, with CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou holds up a
glass horse given to him by supporters at the opening of Chinese Nationalist
Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang’s campaign headquarters in Hsinchu City
yesterday.
Photo: CNA
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
yesterday accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of being “phony” when he said
that Beijing does not support his re-election bid.
In an interview with the BBC’s Chinese-language Web site, Ma on Friday said
claims about Beijing backing his re-election bid were not accurate.
The remark drew criticism from the DPP yesterday, with DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai
(陳其邁) saying that since Ma was elected in 2008, he has never at any
international occasion or cross-strait negotiation formally demanded that China
dismantle its missiles targeting Taiwan.
Ma was only thinking of how to win re-election and was not putting the safety of
Taiwan first despite China’s missiles posing a national security threat to
Taiwan, he said.
“When Ma was running for president in 2008, he included demands for the Chinese
to dismantle the missiles, but then the demands disappeared,” Chen said, adding
that “Ma’s phoniness could also be seen in his proposal of cross-strait peace
accords, in which he made no mention of his previous remarks that called on
Beijing to remove its missiles aimed at Taiwan [as a precondition for
negotiations on a cross-strait peace treaty].”
In the BBC interview, Ma said the allegations that Beijing backs his re-election
were made up by his rivals and that none of them were able to present evidence
to back their claims.
In the interview, Ma renewed his call for Beijing to dismantle ballistic
missiles targeted at Taiwan as early as possible, saying that Beijing’s missile
deployment was detrimental to the development of relations across the Taiwan
Strait. The missile deployment is also one of the main reasons behind the
aversion of Taiwanese to the Beijing government, he said.
Responding to a question on whether he could talk Beijing into removing missiles
targeted at Taiwan if he were re-elected, Ma said Beijing should be fully aware
of the feelings of Taiwan’s people.
“I see no need to negotiate this issue. It should take the initiative to do
that,” Ma said.
He asked: “Is Beijing kind to me, when it has missiles targeting me?”
In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, DPP presidential candidate Tsai
Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she was open to the possibility of visiting China as long as
Beijing did not set any unreasonable conditions.
In contrast, Ma said that if re-elected, he would not visit China to meet with
its top leader. Asked about his views on China’s up-and-coming leaders, such as
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang
(李克強), Ma said he has some knowledge of them, but added that no matter how the
composition of Beijing’s government changed, its new leaders would support the
basic framework for peaceful cross-strait development.
Ma also denied that Tsai had moved past him in the polls as the DPP has claimed
in recent days. He said internal KMT polls had him steadily rising, and he
expressed complete confidence that he would emerge victorious in the Jan. 14
election.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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