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TAIPEI: As Taiwan counts down to its presidential election on March 22, the China issue has again emerged as a hot topic between the two rival camps.
Over the past two weeks, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) have locked horns over their mainland policies.
While both parties agree that better cross-strait ties are important, there is a bitter fight over how much the island should open itself to the mainland.
A TV commercial produced by the DPP campaign headquarters attacks KMT Ma Ying-jeou's proposal of establishing a common market with Mainland China to boost Taiwan's sluggish economy, with DPP's presidential candidate Frank Hsieh accusing Mr Ma of selling off Taiwan to the mainland.
At every campaign rally, Mr Hsieh warns his supporters that if Mr Ma has his way, Taiwan will be flooded with shoddy Chinese products and Taiwanese workers will face unfair competition from Chinese workers.
He said: "In southern Taiwan, there is a saying: If Mr Ma gets his way, 'the men in Taiwan will not be able to find work, the women will have no husbands, and their children will have to go to Heilongjiang.'"
Reeling from the DPP's offensive, Mr Ma and his running mate Vincent Siew have tried to explain that the common market is not a surrender to the mainland.
"The radio stations in southern Taiwan are making false accusations against me. They say if I get elected, I will sell out Taiwan to Mainland China. I will never do so. I will only sell Taiwan's fruits to Mainland China," said Mr Ma.
Even though KMT has also mounted its grassroots offensive against pro-DPP radio stations, the opposition party is still worried about the impact of Mr Hsieh's remarks.
Professor Luo Chi-Jen, Tung Hu University, Political Science, said: "The KMT knows that if the DPP continues to attack Ma Ying-jeou's common market with Mainland China, it will cause heavy damage to Ma's campaign and is therefore trying hard to counter it."
Mr Ma said his 'common market' would help to revitalise the economy of Taiwan – a key concern for voters now.
But Mr Hsieh insists that it would be tantamount to creating a single 'China market' that will undermine Taiwan's sovereignty.
It remains to be seen which policy, or rather, which candidate the people of Taiwan prefer for their future.
- CNA/so
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