Taiwan’s three presidential candidates diverged when it came to the topic of Taiwan’s international participation. It’s a hot button issue in Taiwan, which does not have membership in the United Nations and has difficulty participating in international organizations due to opposition from China. China sees Taiwan as part of Chinese territory, although the two sides have been ruled separately for nearly 70 years.
In the first televised presidential debates on Sunday, a representative from the state-run Central News Agency asked the three candidates how they would maintain Taiwan’s space in the international community.
Both KMT Chairman Eric Chu and PFP Chairman James Soong said that Taiwan’s government must take a pragmatic approach. Chu said that if cross-strait ties are stable, it will offer Taiwan more opportunities to participate in the international community.
The head of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai Ing-wen, on the other hand, was critical of the current administration’s policy of a “diplomatic truce” with Beijing. Under that policy, the two sides have not attempted to lure away one another’s allies. Right now the Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan’s government) has less than two dozen diplomatic allies. But Tsai said that policy has meant Taiwan has had to differ to China in its effort to develop foreign relations.