New Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) called for support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) at a rally in New Taipei on Wednesday evening, saying that the Jan. 13 elections are a choice for Taiwan’s continued progress or decline.
“On Jan. 13, our votes will determine whether Taiwan will continue to progress or take a step backward,” Tsai told a large rally in Tucheng District, referring to the presidential and legislative elections being held concurrently that day.
The president said Lai, who is currently vice president, and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) had worked “side by side” with her over the past few years to bring about economic growth and social progress in Taiwan.
Hsiao resigned as Taiwanese representative to the United States, a post she held for three years, at the end of November to run for vice president.
Since 2016, Taiwan has climbed eight spots to sixth place out of 64 economies in the World Competitiveness Rankings for 2023 issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Tsai said.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has risen from NT$17.5 trillion (US$564.5 billion) in 2016 to over NT$23 trillion in 2022, and the stockmarket in Taiwan has risen from approximately 8,000 points in May 2016 to more than 17,000 points today, she added.
These accomplishments, according to Tsai, have been in part the result of nationwide infrastructure projects promoted by the government under the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program since 2017.
However, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has criticized and tried to downplay those efforts, added Tsai, who is set to end her second term in May 2024 and cannot run again due to term limits.
In addition to campaigning for the Lai-Hsiao ticket, Tsai also urged supporters to use their ballots to back the DPP’s 12 legislative candidates in New Taipei and the party list so the party once again wins a majority of seats in the Legislature.
Speaking in a similar vein, Lai said Taiwan will be able to “steadfastly move forward” should he and Hsiao win the presidential election and lead the country by continuing Tsai’s policies.
He then called out the KMT, claiming they want to increase the dependence of Taiwan’s economy on China by promoting the resumption of talks over a controversial trade pact with Beijing.
Noting that the race between DPP legislative candidates and their main rivals from the KMT is tight, Lai urged rank-and-file party members and supporters to “make a final push” for votes before election day.
