Taiwan election: DPP presidential candidates Tsai Ing-wen and William Lai face off in sole scheduled debate
- Incumbent says if re-elected she will push tax reforms and strengthen defence industry
- Lai says he is against Hong Kong model of ‘one country, two systems’ and peace treaty with China
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and former premier William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party on Saturday went head to head in a policy debate, the only scheduled encounter between the two before the party chooses its presidential candidate next week via opinion polls.
In the televised debate, Tsai and Lai each outlined their campaign platforms and answered questions put to them by a panel consisting of two journalists and a civic group representative.
In her 10-minute opening statement, Tsai, who was first elected in 2016, outlined her accomplishments over the past three years, including efforts to recognise victims of political repression and implement much needed public-sector pension reforms.
Likening her presidency to the construction of a house, Tsai said she had spent the past three years laying the groundwork and that she needed four more years to build the house.
If re-elected, Tsai said she planned to push tax reform, continue strengthening Taiwan’s indigenous defence industry, and keep promoting a programme to help raise Taiwan’s industries to the next level.
