Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the chairwoman and presidential candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Sunday that the orientation of Taiwan's next administration should be decided by the people.

Referring to President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) statement on cross-Taiwan Strait relations in his National Day message, Tsai said there was a huge difference between the views of the people and that of the president, who said that "without the '1992 consensus,' 'maintaining the status quo' is just a slogan" that can never become reality.

The 1992 consensus, which Tsai's party contends never existed, is that Taiwan and China agree that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret what that is.

Tsai believed that society has already judged the performance of the Ma administration, which has low approval ratings, and Taiwan's people will decide the orientation of the next administration when they vote for a new president in January 2016.

With the KMT in disarray over its nominee for the presidential election and general disapproval of the incumbent government, Tsai is considered a near shoo-in to win the election.

Her attendance at the National Day ceremony outside the Presidential Office Saturday drew the media spotlight because she had not previously attended the festivities when she had the chance as DPP chairwoman from 2008 to 2011 and in 2014.

Asked about her appearance at the event, Tsai said she joined in the singing of the national anthem and demonstrated her efforts and expectations for the unity of Taiwanese society.

When asked whether she omitted some of the national anthem's words, she called on the media to concentrate on the most pressing issues facing Taiwan rather than pay too much attention to details of her movements during the ceremony.

(By S.P. Yeh and Lillian Lin)
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