Republic of China Presidential Election, 2004 - Issues

Issues

Although the political spectrum on Taiwan is defined in terms of Taiwan independence versus Chinese reunification, both campaigns took moderate positions on this issue. The reason for this is that people who are influenced greatly by either independence or unification have already decided for whom they will vote, and the goal of both campaigns has been to capture the moderate middle.

The theme of the Pan-Green Coalition was to portray themselves as Taiwanese nationalists and reformers and the opposition as corrupt and lacking in loyalty to Taiwan. The theme of the Pan-Blue Coalition was to question Chen's competence and also to focus in on issues which interested specific interest groups. The Pan-Blue Coalition staunchly defended the existence of the Republic of China and also rejected reunification under one country, two systems. They also abandoned the Under the Roof of One China policy.

The main issues in the campaign were relations with the People's Republic of China, political reform, and the economy. In addition, although they tend not be noticed by the international press, local issues were important in the campaign, particularly because these issues influence undecided voters. These issues varied from county to county but included funding for irrigation projects, the location of expressways, and location of local administrative boundaries.

As the election approached, the tone of campaigning became increasingly negative, with charges of tax evasion, draft dodging, illegal financial transactions, and domestic violence on the part of Lien Chan. Most observers attributed the negative nature of the campaign to the fact that each campaign had moderated their positions on the issues to be similar to each other, leaving nothing other than personal attacks to attract the few uncommitted voters in the race.