【彭博社12.27】马英九将再入选押在同大陆关系上

lilyma06

Taiwan’s Ma Stakes Re-Election on China Ties                                                            
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-27/ma-stakes-re-election-on-china-rapprochement-strengthening-taiwan-economy.html
                                                         
                    

Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's president. Photographer: Maurice Tsai/Bloomberg

                  
                    

     Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou talks about the island's ties with China, Chinese government bonds, financial markets and North Korea.¶     Ma spoke with Bloomberg's Robyn Meredith in Taipei on Dec. 23. (Translated excerpts. Source: Bloomberg)

                  
                                                           
                    

Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's president, poses for a photograph at the Presidential Palace in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday, Dec. 22, 2011. Photographer: Ashley Pon/Bloomberg

                  
               

                            Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou saidhis rapprochement with China will encourage other nations tostrengthen trade with the island and make it less dependent onthe mainland, rebutting opposition criticism that he’s left theeconomy more vulnerable.
“Taiwan has transformed its role from a troublemaker to apeacemaker," Ma, vying for a second four-year term in Jan. 14 elections, said in an interview in his Taipei office. “We’re seeing more windows and doors being opened for Taiwan because of improved cross-strait relations. They have lowered their concerns in developing relations with us, the logic being: If Beijing can develop better relations with Taiwan, why can’t we?”
Ma’s lead with voters has narrowed as slower growth in theexport-reliant economy deepens concern over a wealth gap theopposition blames in part on Taiwanese jobs going to themainland. Victory at the polls may turn on how close Taiwanesewant China ties to be, said Alexander Huang, a professor ofstrategy and war-gaming at Tamkang University’s GraduateInstitute of International Affairs.
With the impact of Europe’s debt woes contributing to theweakest gain in exports in two years last month, Ma said in theDec. 23 interview that he expects the crisis to worsen in thefirst quarter. In the hour-long session, he called on China toremove missiles still pointed at Taiwan, said his administrationisn’t considering investing in Chinese bonds and cautionedagainst overreacting to the death of Kim Jong-Il in North Korea.
Lead Narrows Ma, 61, leads Tsai Ing-wen, 55, chairwoman of DemocraticProgressive Party, by 41 percent to 35 percent, according to asurvey released by TVBS Poll Center on Dec. 23. The poll of1,589 people taken Dec. 20-22 had a 2.5 percentage-point marginof error. Ma’s margin has shrunk from a peak of 9 percentagepoints in October.
Relations with China have reached their warmest in morethan six decades since Ma defeated the DPP in 2008, easing eightyears of heightened tensions and rhetoric across the TaiwanStrait. In a poll commissioned by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets lastmonth, 39.5 percent of voters said Ma is more capable of leadingTaiwan to stable economic development in the face of a globalslowdown, compared with 25.1 percent for Tsai.
“The KMT campaign is telling voters that a peaceful cross-strait relation is the mother of all prosperity,” said Huang,referring to Ma’s Kuomintang party.
Trade Deals Taiwan signed its first trade agreement with China lastyear and has lifted a six-decade ban on direct air, sea andpostal links. The deepening ties have seen more local companiesinvest in China, with manufacturing jobs migrating across thestrait. In the first 11 months of the year, outbound investmentto the mainland reached $12.4 billion, a gain of 22 percent fromthe same period a year earlier, according to data from Taiwan’sinvestment commission.
The island ended a mainland-investment ban in 1991. Sincethen, officials have approved 39,509 projects, data compiled bythe investment commission show. Taiwan’s Foxconn TechnologyGroup, the maker of Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads, employs morethan 1 million people in China alone. Taiwan had 2.97 millionmanufacturing jobs as of November.
Ma said that while commerce with China has increased, sohas that with other countries. Shipments to the mainland made up42 percent of the total last year, little changed from 41percent in 2007 before Ma took office.
Egg Baskets “We are taking active measures to diversify our marketsbecause we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket,” Masaid. “China is our largest trading partner, but not our onlypartner.”
Mainland visitors jumped to 1.6 million in the first 11months of this year, up 6.2 percent from the year earlier periodand overtaking Japan as Taiwan’s biggest source of overseastourists.
Tightening ties doesn’t extend to any plan to invest ashare of Taiwan’s $388 billion of foreign reserves in Chinesegovernment bonds, Ma said. He said the island needs “to dothings in a step-by-step fashion.” By contrast, countries fromJapan to the Philippines have expressed interest in adding yuansecurities to their reserve holdings.
In an interview with Bloomberg News in November, Tsai saidthat a peaceful relationship serves both sides, and that shewanted to focus on domestic issues. Tsai, who has avoided talkof independence during her campaign, says closer economic linkswith China could result in Taiwan bartering away its autonomy.
‘In Vain’ The president rejected the argument, saying Taiwan andChina have signed 16 agreements since he took office and “allour efforts would be in vain” if cross-strait relations change.
“This is a mutually beneficial framework” Ma said. “IfChina changes the status quo, it won’t serve their interests aswell, otherwise it will have to pay an extremely high price.”
Since signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreementtrade deal, Taiwan reached an investment pact with Japan, itssecond-biggest trading partner, in September and is in talksSingapore, New Zealand, India and Indonesia, the president said.
Taiwan also wants to expand its share of China’s markets asthe mainland leaders try to boost domestic consumption.
“Taiwan’s economy is closely intertwined with China and Idon’t think there is a Plan B,” said Aidan Wang, chiefeconomist at Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co. inTaipei. “Tsai Ing-wen’s camp doesn’t have a solution either.”
Ma, the only son in a family of five children, moved fromHong Kong to Taiwan a year after he was born. He became Taiwan’syoungest minister of justice in 1993 after a stint on the newlyestablished Mainland Affairs Council.
Peace Deal In the 2008 presidential election, Ma beat the DPP bypledging to abandon a pro-independence stance in favor ofstrengthening economic relations with China. He said in Octoberhe hopes to sign a peace deal with mainland China within thenext decade if he gets public support.
China regards Taiwan, ruled separately since a civil warended in 1949, as its own territory and blasted a push by formerPresident Chen Shui-bian of the DPP for recognition of theisland as a sovereign nation during his tenure.
Tsai, who has been campaigning on promises to narrow thewealth gap and contain property prices, said Ma’s administrationhad failed to look after the less privileged.
The president said that his government has implementedmeasures to curb property speculation and that the wealth gapwas largest in 2001 when the opposition was in power.
“In the past three years, we faced financial tsunami andslowing economy and although we have seen some recovery, but notyet fully recovered, so some people are not satisfied,” Masaid. “We are trying out best and given more time, we canovercome it.”



该贴已经同步到 lilyma06的微博