CSI in the News - CSI Today

Chinese Envious of Taiwan's Democracy2012‐01‐16Netizens in China seek greater debate after watching polls in self‐governing Taiwan.AFPTaiwan's President Ma Ying‐jeou's supporters gather in front of their Kuomintang party's campaignheadquarters in Taipei, Jan. 14, 2012.Many Chinese netizens are openly calling for active public participation in politics in the mainland asthey applaud the re‐election of Taiwan's President Ma Ying‐jeou.Ma, who belongs to the Kuomintang (KMT) party and is a pioneer of a series of cross‐straits trade andtravel agreements with rival Beijing, beat China‐skeptic challenger Tsai Ing‐wen of the DemocraticProgressive Party (DPP) in hotly contested weekend polls.The election was witnessed for the first time by mainland Chinese tourists, as well as widely followed onChina's microblogging services.A news posting announcing Ma's win from the cutting‐edge Guangzhou‐based newspaper SouthernMetropolis News was retweeted more than 10,000 times on the popular Sina Weibo microbloggingplatform, garnering more than 2,000 comments.Many netizens appeared envious of the level of democracy enjoyed by their "Taiwan compatriots.""So the people of Taiwan are happy," wrote user @denglaixiaotudetuma. "What about the people onthe mainland, then?"Page 39 of 161