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After a landslide KMT victory in
January's legislative elections, Ma Ying-jeou is
setting his sights on securing the presidency for
the party by focusing on the economy, in written
responses to the Taiwan Review.
Ma Ying-jeou
Born: Hong Kong, 1950 (moved to Taiwan with his
family when he was a year old)
Website: www.ma19.net
Education:
Bachelor of Laws, National Taiwan University, 1972
Master of Laws, New York University, 1976
Doctor of Juridical Science, Harvard University,
1981
Employment:
Director-General, First Bureau, Office of the
President, 1981-1988
Chairman, Research, Development and Evaluation
Commission,
1988-1991
Vice Chairman and Spokesman, Mainland Affairs
Council, 1991-1993
Member of National Assembly, 1992-1996
Minister of Justice, 1993-1996
Minister without Portfolio,
1996-1997
Associate Professor of Law, National Chengchi
University, 1997-1998
Mayor of Taipei City, 1998-2006
KMT Vice Chairman, 2003-2005
KMT Chairman, 2005-2007
Hobbies:
An avid jogger and swimmer, Ma
also stays in shape with occasional bicycle jaunts
and by playing basketball and soccer.
Taiwan Review: Why are you running
for the presidency?
Ma Ying-jeou: I have a sense of
mission regarding our nation. I feel a concern for
the land and for the people. I feel a responsibility
to step forward and speak out, to join the people in
an effort to extricate the nation from its current
chaos.
Over the past several years, under
the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) corrupt
administration, Taiwan has suffered internally as
well as externally.
At home, our economy has
stagnated, the standard of living has plummeted and
social tensions have escalated. The Kuomintang [KMT]
has a responsibility to keep the nation on the right
track, so that Taiwan can continue to advance, so
that the Republic of China can continue to stand
tall on the world stage, so that it can remain a
first-rank nation with a strong competitive edge.
Externally, Taiwan is now known
less as an "economic miracle" or
"model of democratization" and more as a
"trouble-maker." The DPP's "UN for
Taiwan" referendum, for example, has caused
Taiwan to be criticized by all the major powers,
including the United States, Japan and our
neighboring countries. I will do my best to reverse
this dangerous course.
TR: How do you assess your
strengths compared with other presidential
candidates?
Ma: First of all, I am clean and
have always been clean. If elected, I will try very
hard to build a clean and just political system. In
the 1990s, the KMT party machine became corrupt, but
the administration still kept itself very clean. By
comparison, the DPP administration has seen two top
presidential aides, three ministers and five vice
ministers indicted or investigated for corruption.
Second, the people of Taiwan
consider the KMT to be adept at economic development
and able to improve their lives. To this end, I have
asked former Premier Vincent Siew, with his
financial expertise and abundant administrative
experience, to be my running mate, to increase voter
confidence in the KMT's ability to revitalize
Taiwan's economy.
Third, we can deliver on our
promises. During the past eight years, the DPP has
launched a number of pie-in-the-sky proposals and
extravagant slogans. But they have remained just
that--empty proposals and slogans.
TR: Please describe your economic
blueprint.
Ma: My core campaign strategy is
to focus on economic development. Siew's most
important role will be to serve as the main economic
strategist. We have set a goal we call
"633," which stands for 6 percent economic
growth each year, per capita income of US$30,000 and
an unemployment rate lower than 3 percent by 2012.
We have four core strategies for
realizing these goals. First, we will adopt an open
and unrestricted policy to foster the public's
economic wellbeing. The DPP administration has
adopted a "closed door policy." They
failed to restrain the flow of Taiwanese capital and
businesspeople to the mainland. They were not
successful in encouraging Taiwanese enterprises in
mainland China to reinvest profits in Taiwan.
Foreign investment in Taiwan has also plunged.
Therefore, we are going to adopt an open policy and
lift the restrictions to encourage Taiwanese
enterprises to come back to Taiwan. We will reduce
the restrictions on enterprises, loosen the limit
for investing in mainland China by Taiwan's
enterprises and ease the restrictions on capital
inflows from mainland China.
Second, we will implement 12
priority projects, expand domestic demand and
promote economic growth. Since the DPP came to
power, government investment in public
infrastructure has decreased, which has had a
negative impact on our GDP. These 12 priority
projects will improve our infrastructure. Over eight
years, we plan a total investment of NT$3.99
trillion [US$124 billion]. Of the NT$3.99 trillion,
the government will invest NT$2.65 trillion [US$82
billion], and NT$1.34 trillion [US$42 billion] will
come from the private sector. It will not be
necessary for the government to increase taxes or go
into debt, and the projects will create 120,000 job
opportunities.
Third, we will promote industrial
revitalization and globalization while encouraging
companies to remain in Taiwan. The service industry
will be the focus for job creation. The output of
the service industry accounts for 72 percent of our
GDP, but just 58 percent of employment.
Consequently, we have to rebuild our service
industry to create more jobs.
We intend to build Taiwan into the
"center of assets management for the
Asia-Pacific region" in order to attract
investment from the NT$4 trillion [US$124 billion]
that our compatriots have saved in foreign
countries. We will also set up a "tourist
service industry" as a major national project
and allow tourists from mainland China to visit
Taiwan. The mid-term plan envisions 3 million
visitors per year, creating NT$180 billion [US$5.6
billion] in revenue and 120,000 job opportunities.
We will establish medical tourism as a priority and
foster international cooperation in the healthcare
industry. And we will promote the "logistics
management industry" by taking advantage of
Taiwan's geographical location. Our goal is to turn
Taiwan into a regional transportation hub.
We must cope with the issue of
global warming by promoting high-value-added,
low-carbon industries. We must aid cultural and
creative industries. We must improve energy
efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and develop an
alternative energy industry. We also need to promote
the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. With
respect to small and medium enterprises and
traditional industries, we will provide NT$30
billion to establish a local industry development
fund.
Fourth, we will negotiate and sign
free trade agreements with other countries under the
framework of the WTO. We will actively participate
in the international financial and economic
proceedings of the IMF [International Monetary
Fund], World Bank and OECD [Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development]. We will open
seven airports for cross-strait direct flights, open
seven ports for cross-strait direct shipping and
loosen restrictions on investment. And we will start
a new era of economic and trade negotiations and
relations across the Taiwan Strait.
TR: How will you handle
cross-strait relations? What do you think is the
most pressing cross-strait issue?
Ma: This is an issue I view and
will handle with utter seriousness. Our basic policy
is to pursue peace on the basis of "three
nos": no unification, no independence and no
use of force. In the last decade, the PRC [People's
Republic of China] threatened
"unification" and the "use of
force," while Taiwan under the DPP
administration played with fire by promoting
"independence." Both failed miserably.
If we win, we will seek to resume
dialogue with Beijing on the basis of the "1992
consensus," or "one China, respective
interpretations." Then we will engage in talks
in three important areas. The first is normalization
of cross-strait economic and trade exchanges to
maximize the financial wellbeing of people in
Taiwan. Second, we will seek a win-win solution in
discussions about the so-called "international
space" issue. Third, we will seek a peace
agreement to end hostilities and bring about
long-term peace between the two sides of the strait.
In order not to negotiate from fear, we will
maintain and strengthen our national defense,
including acquisition of advanced weaponry from
abroad.
I am confident that our approach
will succeed, because in the first half of the
1990s, the same approach ushered in a rare period of
rapprochement across the strait. The majority of
people in Taiwan support this pragmatic approach,
and the international community and even the PRC
look at it now with favor.
TR: Please elaborate on your
foreign policy.
Ma: The mainland's high-handed
tactic of obstructing the Republic of China's
diplomacy has been a constant for decades. But over
the past eight years, the DPP regime's rash and
confrontational diplomacy has frittered away the
last remnants of goodwill other nations might have
once felt toward Taiwan.
If Vincent Siew and I are elected,
we will implement a foreign policy in accordance
with the principles of "sovereignty, pragmatism
and dignity." We must think creatively in order
to establish new relations with the world.
The United States has long been
Taiwan's most important partner. But mutual trust
between Taipei and Washington has deteriorated
sharply in the past few years. If we are elected,
the first thing we must do is to restore mutual
trust and consolidate the bilateral relationship
between Taiwan and the United States. We will also
work with our neighbors and friends to restore peace
and stability in the region.
While returning to the United
Nations is the collective aspiration of the people,
this should be regarded as a long-term objective,
not the sole goal of foreign policy. We will also
seek to join or participate in the World Bank, the
IMF and the World Health Organization.
We will also seek to negotiate
with Beijing on the so-called "international
space" issue. Ways must be found to attain an
equilibrium between Taipei's and Beijing's interests
and dignity.
Taiwan's democratic institutions,
free economy and respect for human rights are
important sources of our soft power. We will make
good use of these resources, pursue a course of
"flexible diplomacy" and combine public
and private resources to secure national interests.
More importantly, Taiwan's democratic system, which
upholds freedom and observes human rights, will
provide a "lighthouse effect" and create a
fine example for mainland China.
--Compiled by Taiwan Review
KMT Vice-Presidential Candidate
Vincent Siew
Born in Chiayi City in 1939,
Vincent Siew'scon-stant smile has earned him the
affectionate nickname "Smiling Siew."
Siew graduated from National
Chengchi University's Department of Diplomacy in
1961 and then entered a master's program in
international law and diplomacy at Chengchi. While
studying for his graduate degree, in 1962 Siew began
his civil service career at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. He earned his master's degree in 1965 and
served as the Republic of China's consulate general
in Kuala Lumpur from 1966 to 1972, before returning
to Taiwan to join the Bureau of Foreign Trade, where
he was promoted to the position of director-general.
In 1988, Siew was selected as a
member of the KMT's Central Committee. Between 1988
and 1995, Siew served as vice chairman of the
Council for Economic Planning and Development
(CEPD), minister of economic affairs, chairman of
the CEPD and chairman of the Mainland Affairs
Council. While serving in these posts, he promoted
major infrastructure projects, including placing
Taipei City's railway lines underground and
expanding Kaohsiung International Airport to
encourage the development of cross-strait relations
through trade and investment.
Siew was elected as a member of
the Legislative Yuan in 1996 and served as a
legislator until 1997, when he was appointed
premier. He was the first premier to have been born
in Taiwan. As premier, Siew set law and order,
economic development, quality of life, culture and
education, cross-strait relations and national
security as his administration's six primary points
of emphasis.
Siew was selected as the KMT
vice-presidential candidate in the 2000 election,
serving as the running mate of presidential
candidate Lien Chan. In 2002, Siew became chairman
of the Chung-Hua Institute of Economic Research. He
served as the chief economic advisor to President
Chen Shui-bian from 2003 until resigning from all
posts in June 2007 after his nomination as the KMT
vice-presidential candidate.
Siew is married and has three
daughters.
--Jim Hwang
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