Taiwan: Presidential candidates debate in shadow of China

Taiwan's presidential candidates argued over ways to handle the island's relationship with Beijing during a TV debate on Saturday, two weeks ahead of the election set for January 13.

Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, had previously halted high-level communications with the administration of outgoing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen amid the rising threat of conflict.

What happened during the debate?

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has campaigned for the election on a ticket of sovereignty separate from China.

During Saturday's often testy debate, the DPP's candidate Lai Ching-te described himself as a "pragmatic worker of Taiwan independence."

But his opponents accused the current vice president of trying to "undermine Taiwan's security."

Lai remained defiant, at one point insisting that, "The sovereignty of Taiwan belongs to the 23 million people in Taiwan. It does not belong to (China)."

The vice president, who currently tops most opinion polls, promised to help strengthen Taiwan's defense and economy if elected.

Lai also accused Hou Yu-ih, the candidate for the Kuomintang (KMT) party — which has closer ties with Beijing — of being pro-China.

"I will not go backward (to the past) like the Kuomintang and be willing to become a vassal of totalitarianism... There are so many uncertainties regarding their policies and this is not the path we want to take," Lai insisted.

Kuomintang urges peace and close ties to US

The KMT's Hou accused Lai of smearing him, saying he opposed both Taiwan's independence and China's "one country, two systems" model of autonomy that has been offered to the self-ruled island.

The same model has been used by Beijing to govern Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997.

"The current status quo is that the Taiwan Strait is on the brink of war. So, to maintain close ties with the United States while also making peace with China is the solution to the problem," Hou insisted.

The third presidential candidate, former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je from the small Taiwan People's Party, said his bottom line on engaging with China was the protection of Taiwan's current political system and way of life.

"With this bottom line, I'm willing to talk to [Beijing]," he said.

Why are China and Taiwan at odds?

Taiwan split from China amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing has vowed to retake the island by military force if necessary.

The January 13 presidential and parliamentary elections will take place amid the backdrop of strong military and political pressure from Beijing, which in recent months has included sending daily warplanes and naval vessels around the island.

Differences over Taiwan are also a major flashpoint in US-China relations.

The US officially follows the "One China Policy" which does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. At the same time, however, Washington has close ties with the island and has vowed to ensure that Taiwan has the resources to defend itself. The US also seeks to prevent any unilateral changes of Taiwan's status by Beijing.

After the debate, Beijing criticized Lai's performance as "full of confrontation mentality," in comments reported by the Xinhua news agency.

A spokesman in China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Lai's DPP was "sabotaging the peaceful development of cross-strait relations."

mm/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)