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18 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
ried woman whom he “recognized” as a daughter.
Such recognition is still quite common in China as well
as in Taiwan. The elder Ma’s relationship to the woman
is like a godfather to his goddaughter in the Christendom.
But in China’s extended family system, a recognized
daughter is considered to have the same status as
a natural daughter and an affair between the elder Ma
and his recognized daughter might be regarded as incest.
Then Ma’s wife, Christine Chou, was alleged to
have stolen newspapers while working as an assistant at
the Harvard-Yenching Library at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She was with Ma, while he was studying at
Harvard towards his S.J. D. The allegation was made
by a spin doctor of Frank Hsieh, who could not substantiate
the charges. The sole purpose seems to tell
voters they might have a first lady with a theft record, if
Ma were elected. Ma’s sister was working as a schoolmaster
in Beijing and Ma was accused of trying to help
her school get accredited in Taiwan. His daughter was
accused of carrying an American passport. Finally, it
was Frank Hsieh himself who challenged Ma in open
TV debates to produce evidence that he had given up
his U.S. permanent resident card. Hsieh never let go of
Ma, who said again and again the “green card” he had
once had was given up on return to Taiwan from the
United States in 1984. Ma produced his Taiwan passports
where American visas were stamped, arguing that
no such visas could be granted a permanent resident in
the United States. That, however, was an inane issue.
The election law in Taiwan only disqualifies candidates
who have foreign citizenship. Nonetheless, Hsieh had
the Central Election Commission request information
on Ma’s permanent resident card from the U.S. immigration
authorities. No such information could be made
available for protection of privacy. In the end, a former
director of the American Institute in Taiwan, who happened
to be in Taipei on the election eve, attested to the
Ma argument.
Hsieh raised no issues in the presidential campaign.
He just attacked Ma for proposing a common market
across the Taiwan Strait. The Democratic Progressive
Party candidate called it a “one China common market,”
a blueprint for surrendering Taiwan to China. He
also demanded Ma produce evidence that he gave up
his U.S. permanent resident card. A holder of the card
might flee Taiwan and therefore not loyal to the country,
Hsieh charged. Ma was on the defensive, but promised
a corruption-free, clean government, if he were elected.
That appealed to swing voters who were sick and tired
of government corruption in the past eight years.
They trotted out in droves to teach the Democratic Progressive
Party a hard lesson on March 22.
Ma won a landslide victory in the presidential poll,
restoring the Kuomintang to the governing role it had
played for more than five decades before it was ousted
by the Democratic Progressive Party in 2000. He garnered
more than 7,658,724 of the 13,104,063 votes cast,
58.45 percent of the total, against 41.55 percent, or
5,445,239 votes, for Frank Hsieh. Turnout was 76.33
percent. Ma broke Lee Teng-hui’s record at 54 percent
in 1996.
Hsieh conceded defeat at once. President George
W. Bush of the United States congratulated Ma for
election. “Once again,” Bush said in a statement, “Taiwan
has demonstrated the strength and vitality of its
democracy. I also congratulate Mr. Ma Ying-jeou on his
victory. I believe the election provides a fresh opportunity
for both sides (of the Taiwan Strait) to reach out
and engage one another in peacefully resolving their
differences.”
Ma’s victory was not easy. Hsieh’s negative campaign
against him was staggering. But the largest handicap
he had to overcome was his original sin of being
born a Chinese mainlander. He was labeled as a China
lover, who would sell out Taiwan and flee with the help
of his American green card. Yet he was able to rout
Hsieh, Taipei’s native-born favorite son who subtly
made the last-minute emotional appeals to voters to
choose anybody but a mainlander. Ma’s election proved
that Taiwan’s Hoklo-Hakka majority are now by and
large immunized against their February 28 Incident