Closer ties favored

Closer ties favored

The majority of people in Taiwan consider themselves to be
Chinese and are in favor of stability and closer ties with the
mainland - despite the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) winning
more seats in the "Legislative Yuan" in the just-concluded
elections. Wen Wei Po said this in its editorial Monday.

Excerpts follow: After the elections last Saturday, the
influence of the DPP has increased in the legislature but
weakened at the local level, while the Kuomintang (KMT) has
suffered from the sabotage by its former president Lee Teng-hui.
On the whole, the wish of voters was to retain the stabilizing
forces in the counties and cities. As the Pan Blue Alliance has
gained the upper hand in the densely populated north, it has laid
the foundation for the next "presidential" election.

KMT's heavy losses in the legislature were the result of a
stab in the back by traitor Lee Teng-hui who slung mud wantonly
at the party and its candidates. The party's campaign efforts
were also hampered by the lack of an energetic and articulate
standard bearer.

The DPP, on the other hand, captured the media's and voters'
attention by exposing a skeleton in the cupboard and smearing
KMT's image by fabricating vote-buying incidents and placing
anti-KMT advertisements.

The DPP also took advantage of the single-seat constituency
system of the elections and benefited from the split of the KMT
which has slashed its share of the vote.

However, interviews conducted on the street have indicated
that the average Taiwanese is still against independence and
radical governance.

We hope all parties on the island will take into account the
overall interest of Taiwan by working for national reunification,
which is the only way to lift the island's economy from the
doldrums.

-- China Daily, Beijing