Presidential candidates trade blows at 1st televised policy forum

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's first televised presidential policy forum Wednesday saw the three candidates trade blows and press their case for the country's top job.

Opening the forum, Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) attacked the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) record in power, stating that "the public suffering index has reached a new peak" over the last seven years.

Hou claimed that economic growth had reached "a historic low" under the DPP, something that had left "60 percent of the population thinking a change in government is necessary."

Accusing the DPP of harboring an authoritarian bent, Hou questioned whether having all branches of the government under the control of one party was "the kind of democracy people want."

Next to the stage, Vice President and DPP nominee Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said his opponents had consistently employed underhanded tactics, describing Hou's accusations as "an attempt to discredit" him.

Addressing the recent legal controversy surrounding property owned by his family in New Taipei's Wanli District, Lai called for a "reasonable solution," before raising allegations of property-related impropriety involving his opponents.

He pledged that he would transfer the rights of his Wanli property, which has come under attack for being illegally expanded, to a "charitable trust" and prioritize turning it into a miners' museum. 

Lai questioned how Hou could advocate for protecting the housing rights of young people while his family owned a dormitory, which the DPP candidate claimed "imposed high rents on students."

The DPP candidate then asked Hou whether he would consider transferring a family-owned dormitory to a public trust to make it available for use by underprivileged students free of charge.

Lai then raised recent revelations regarding a paid parking lot illegally built on agricultural land owned by the family of Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the presidential candidate of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

"There's a new case of illegal construction on your property, and, upon discovery, you initially shifted blame onto your parents before rectifying the situation," Lai said.

"Is this what you refer to as 'new politics'?" asked Lai.

He pressed on and questioned: Are there any other issues within your family that haven't come to light yet?

In a similar vein to his attack on Hou, Lai asked whether Ko was willing to hand over the farmland to a public trust for community use.

The TPP's Ko, meanwhile, adopted a similar line of attack to Hou, criticizing the DPP for failing in the last seven years to address pressing issues, including labor shortages, land scarcity, a declining birthrate and an aging population.

The former Taipei mayor added that he believed Taiwan needed change in 2024.

The three candidates were then each given an opportunity for rebuttal.

Hou -- in an apparent allusion to Lai's property in Wanli -- stated that there were no back taxes due on the dormitory owned by his family or "illegal structures" on the land.

The candidates' sparring then shifted to energy policy, with Hou lashing out at what he called the DPP's "anti-nuclear" stance.

Hou criticized the DPP's insistence on its "anti-nuclear" policy, saying it is against the global trend and citing the declaration to triple the installed capacity of nuclear power by 2030 endorsed by several major countries including the United States and Japan at COP28.

Lai, meanwhile, asked what had changed about Hou's position, given that the KMT candidate had publicly opposed the continued operation of Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 and No. 2 as mayor of New Taipei in 2016.

The second and third policy presentations for presidential candidates are scheduled to be held on Dec. 26 and Dec. 28, respectively.

The presidential and legislative elections will take place Jan. 13, 2024 nationwide.