Taiwan's Polls

choi

(1) Ralph Jennings, Taiwan’s Pro-Independence Opposition Gains in Election Campaign. Voice of America, Jan 10, 2012.
http://www.voanews.com/english/n ... aign-136991603.html

Quote:

"experts say China has faded from the campaign agenda as the threat of war recedes and voters worry more about their pocketbooks.

"Campaigning is quiet by Taiwanese standards * * * Hallmarks of past elections, such as violence and angry mass protests that swelled past 100,000 people, have stayed out of the 2012 race.

Note: Mr Jennings is a free-lancer.

(2) Jens Kastner, Taiwan's Project Diving Dragon resurfaces. Asia Times Online, Jan 10, 2012.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NA10Ad01.html

Three consecutive paragraphs:

"Political will in Taipei is also likely lacking. Lai I-chung, a member of the research body the Taiwan Thinktank, told Asia Times Online that Ma and his ruling Kuomintang party (KMT) had in the past decade opposed subs because they saw them as offensive and overly expensive weapons that would destabilize the situation across the Taiwan Strait.

"Lai said that from 2000 to 2008 - when the KMT was in the opposition but held legislative majority - it blocked a special budget for subs over 60 times.

"'But this all of a sudden changed in January 2011,' Lai said. 'In a surprise statement, Ma named subs and new F-16s [fighter jets] as Taiwan's two preferred weapon systems for purchase. Nobody knows why he changed his mind.'

My comment: This article does not say anything new until toward the end, starting with the above quotation.

(3) In my posting YESTERDAY titled "CN Tested Multiple JL-2s Ahead of TW Elections," item (4) was:
Paul Mozur and Jenny W Hsu, China Looms Over Coming Taiwan Election. Wall Street Journal Asia, Jan 9, 2012

I do not know if WSJ Asia published it yesterday, but the report is published in US today as
Paul Mozur and Jenny W Hsu, China a Sticky Point in Taiwan Vote: Trade deal with Beijing has been slow to yield benefits, opening door for opposition candidate. Wall Street Journal Asia, Jan 10, 2012
whose window in print states:
A loss for President Ma would alarm Beijing and heighten uncertainty in US-China relations.