台選戰攻防

choi

Jonathan Manthorpe, Taiwan's President Ma Faces Tight Race for January Re-Election. Vancouver Sun, Oct 24, 2011
http://www.vancouversun.com/busi ... /5596038/story.html

Quote:

"While the efforts by Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou to ease tensions with China have won him approval in Washington, they are not so popular with Taiwanese voters who may turf him out of office in January.(1) 台湾总统选战主打两岸和经济议题. VOA Chinese, Oct 24, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... IGNS-132428953.html

(2) Taiwan President's China Peace Plan Triggers Fury. AFP, Oct 23, 2011.
http://www.asiaone.com/print/New ... 0111023-306594.html

Quote:

"The non-partisan Apple Daily newspaper predicted that the peace treaty will 'define' the January 14 presidential elections.

"speculation has been ripe that he would enter into more dangerous political territory in a second term as he seeks to establish his legacy, and a peace treaty may be considered the least risky way of doing that.

Note: George TSAI  蔡 瑋

(3)
(a) 李欣芳、王寓中, 和平協議公投 綠：馬急派密使赴中解釋. Liberty Times, Oct 24, 2011
http://libertytimes.com.tw/2011/new/oct/24/today-p3.htm
(國民黨大陸事務部主任高輝"否認是密使 稱是去訪問台商")
(b) 張瑞楨, 宋質疑︰中國會簽不統協議嗎?  Liberty Times, Oct 24, 2011   
http://libertytimes.com.tw/2011/new/oct/24/today-p4.htm
("親民黨主席宋楚瑜昨天表示，馬英九提出的公投與兩岸協議「令人憂慮」，他質疑說，大陸可能跟台灣簽訂一個「不統」的協議嗎？")
(c) 黃維助, 研考會民調 馬兩岸政策滿意度僅38.9％. Liberty Times, Oct 24, 2011.
http://libertytimes.com.tw/2011/new/oct/24/today-p6.htm
(d) 張瑞楨, 吳伯雄：馬人際關係差 我也有感覺. Liberty Times, Oct 24, 2011.
http://libertytimes.com.tw/2011/new/oct/24/today-p13.htm
(e) 當初打槍 總統昨發賀電. Liberty Times, Oct 24, 2011.  
http://libertytimes.com.tw/2011/new/oct/24/today-fo4.htm

Note: This year, a Taiwanese enterprise hosted the tournament--first ever in hisotry of Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LPGA_Championship

(4)

"Real wage values [in Taiwan] are now four per cent lower than what they were 12 years ago.

My comment:
(a) The two pro-KMT newspapers in Taiwan (United Daily News and China Times) have consistently polled Ma ahead of Tsai--frequently by double digits, whereas DPP-leaning Liberty Times has had both runing neck and neck.
(b) Regarding quotation 1. Who knows?  Ma may follow those who earned adulation abroad but was unpopular domestically (think Gorbachev).
(c) Regarding quotation 2. It is not really Ma's fault. US is similar. But KMT and Ma, while in opposition before 2008, atssailed then President Chen Shui-bian for flat wage (after inflation; as opposed to REDUCED wage under Ma's watch). Besides Ma's 2008 campaign platform stipulated "'633 Plan,' which promised economic growth rate of 6%, unemployment rate of less than 3%, and per capita income of more than US$30,000."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou

The promise, impossible at the time, came back to haunt him, in a way similar to George HW Bush's "Read my lips: no new taxes" (uttered "at the 1988 Republican National Convention as he accepted the nomination on August 18").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_my_lips:_no_new_taxes
(d) The report mentions, "Tsai, a law graduate from Cornell University with a PhD from the London School of Economics."

I knew the fact represented in the second clause (but I thought she studied economics in London!), but not the first. (I did not know in what and where she got the bachelor's.)

Just now I googled and Tsai's professional degrees are:
(i) 國立臺灣大學法律系 法學士 bachelor of law (a four-year program, directly after high school without pre-law study as in US), 1978;
(ii) Master of Science in Legal Studies (MSLS; a one-year program), Cornell University Law School, 1980
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu ... ster-of-science.cfm
; and (iii) PhD law, from Department of Law, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE), 1984.
* World Leaders; LSE people - alumni and staff. LSE, undated.
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/aboutLSE/keyFacts/worldLeaders.aspx
("Tsai Ing-wen (b.1956)
PhD Law 1984
Vice-premier 2006- ")
*It turns out that The Department turns out two handfuls of PhD a year
MPhil/PhD Research Degrees. Department of Law, LSE, undated.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections ... phd-completions.htm
--a small program, compared with Harvard.
Harvard Law School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Law_School
("Each class in the three-year J.D. program has approximately 550 students")