Word: hsieh
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Taipei cable channel in our Hong Kong home when the doorbell rang. It was our neighbors, a Taiwan family - husband, wife and their two children; they didn't have Taiwan TV and wished to follow the election on ours. As Ma pulled away from his opponent Frank Hsieh, the voice of the anchorwoman was drowned out by their cheers. The following morning my family and I joined a group of mainland, Indonesian and Singaporean Chinese friends for a hike; they went on and on about how wonderful...
...Kuomintang, or KMT, won Taiwan's presidential election by a landslide, garnering 58% of the votes cast compared to 42% for his chief rival, Frank Hsieh of the rival Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP. "The end of this election is the beginning of change," Ma said in his victory address to a roaring crowd in Taipei...
...scale of Ma's victory - he won by the largest margin in Taiwan's electoral history - provides him with the public backing to pursue his agenda with gusto. His mandate is a repudiation of the DPP's preference for a more distant relationship with China. Though Hsieh also favored expanding ties with China, the DPP and its supporters are far more wary of China and fear absorption by their giant neighbor. During the campaign, Hsieh attempted to paint Ma's plans as a route toward de facto unification. In the days before the vote, he tried to capitalize on Beijing...
...Historical Baggage The presidential election, though, is far from over. Ma has a potential Achilles heel - the mere fact that he's KMT. Hsieh can count on a full third of the electorate to vote against the KMT under almost any circumstances. Ma has tried to counter by appearing more sensitive to issues of Taiwanese identity. He has spent long stretches in the island's south - DPP territory - where he often bypasses hotels to stay in the homes of ordinary folk. At one rally of labor unionists in Taipei, Ma made sure to lead the crowd in cheers of "Taiwan...
...Even if Ma overcomes Hsieh and wins the presidency, he could face serious hurdles in realizing his vision of improved cross-strait relations. Much of his success will depend on the attitude of Beijing. On the surface, the interests of Ma and Hu Jintao appear to be dovetailing. Under Hu, whom Ma compliments as "sophisticated," China has dramatically softened its stance toward Taipei, and Hu these days sounds ready to compromise. In his speech opening the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress in early March, Hu reiterated his offer to sign a peace treaty. "Status in negotiations would be equal...