Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told foreign media on Tuesday that Taiwan under her administration would pursue a “balanced, stable and moderate” policy toward China.
“We do not want to be antagonistic toward our neighbors, but neither will we be subjugated,” Tsai said.
The 54-year-old former academic, who served as China policymaker in the previous DPP administration, has been credited with revitalizing the party’s fortunes after its heavy loss in the 2008 poll and the subsequent jailing of former President Chen Shui-bian on corruption charges.
Pulling back from Chen’s pro-independence rhetoric that infuriated China and made Taiwan a potential Asian flashpoint, Tsai has focused on social issues and a pragmatic approach to China that seeks to put relations between the two into an international rather than bilateral framework.
Her approach has put Tsai neck and neck in recent opinion polls with incumbent Nationalist Party (KMT) President Ma Ying-jeou, who is seeking a second term in next January’s election on the strength of his pro-China business policies that have delivered a boost to Taiwan’s economy and have delighted foreign investors.
While a Ma victory would be the preferred outcome for investors, his policies have faced criticism at home that China is using them to pursue its stated goal of taking Taiwan back.
Beijing regards the self-governed, democratic island as part of its sovereign territory and has vowed to return it to the fold, by force if necessary.
Many Taiwanese, especially in the DPP’s rural southern heartland, also feel they are missing out on the benefits of the China boom. Tsai said a DPP administration would take a hard look a landmark trade deal between Taiwan and China agreed last year and be very cautious about further talks under the deal.
Tsai has over the past week unveiled her 10-year policy guidelines, an 18-chapter document setting out the DPP’s vision of Taiwan. They include an emphasis on job creation and building the domestic economy, a fair distribution of resources, a “green” tax to build a sustainable environment and a state-funded care system for children and the elderly.
Missing from her platform is the fiery pro-independence rhetoric that drove China to revile Chen. Her China policy is predicated on a theme of mutual benefit while recognizing differences and avoiding economic dependence on China.
A DPP government would engage China to build a harmonious relationship while pursuing trade and economic pacts with the United States, Japan the European Union and Asian countries, Tsai told the briefing.
“The DPP sees China as an important trading partner within a global context, and we emphasize the need to balance and diversify our global interests,” she said, adding that the KMT’s policy was solely dependent on China as the engine of growth, regardless of the potential risks.
Given her party’s pro-independence track record, China is clearly still wary and will be watching the elections closely. Beijing has already warned the DPP it risked serious problems, including conflict, if it pressed for independence.
The Communist Party official paper the People’s Daily, in a feature on Tsai published in May, doubted she could bring anything new to the table, saying she had no clear policies toward China.
“Her remarks on cross-Strait issues drift from place to place. On some policies she often denies being the person today that she was yesterday, and her positions are fickle,” it wrote.
The time for independence bids had past, said Li Peng, assistant director at China’s Xiamen University Taiwan Research Institute.
“If Chen Shui-bian was not able to achieve it in his eight years (in office), no Taiwan leader subsequently will,” he said.
Tsai and her party were hobbled by an inability to decide what Taiwan’s future status should be, he added.
Tsai, a polished English speaker who holds a law doctorate from the London School of Economics, said that it was “obvious that China has a preference” in the election and would definitely seek to use its influence.
Taiwanese go to the polls on Jan. 14. Tsai would become Taiwan’s first woman president if elected. Taiwanese presidents serve four-year terms, up to a maximum of two.