1. Cross-strait relations

Q: What substantive methods do you have that can assure our citizens it is possible to preserve Taiwan's integrity and stabilize the tense relations across the Taiwan Strait?

Lin Yang-kang: The Chinese Communists' current anxiety about the Taiwan area, and the various forms of pressure, media attacks and military intimidation they have exerted, principally stem from their fear that we will follow the path of separatism or independence. I have always believed we should not be in a hurry to unite, but we must not go independent. As long as the mainland believes our fundamental stance, that we are not going to divide the Chinese people, it will be far easier to communicate with them.

We want to energetically press for direct trade, transportation and postal services between Taiwan and the mainland. This has been my opinion for many years. We now have commercial and economic cooperation, so we have to be more active. Don't think that developing Taiwan's business investment in the mainland will have a negative impact on Taiwan's economic foundation. Taiwan and mainland China will be able to profit together and enjoy mutual benefits.

Q: If, as mainland China's premier Li Peng says, the upcoming presidential election will only be the selection of a provincial leader, would you be willing to visit mainland China in the capacity of a provincial leader?

Chen Li-an: "People have personal integrity, and nations have national integrity." We can't do things that are damaging to our national integrity. It is no use currying favor or admitting our inferiority to the Chinese Communists--that is surrender. We have to proceed on the basis of equality. A meeting of leaders of the nation, a kind of bilateral summit to initiate peaceful relations between the two sides, would be helpful to alleviate present tensions.

According to various opinion polls, many people think that if our ticket is elected, we will be most able to improve the relations between the two sides and promote peace. This represents their confidence in us. We will assuage the tensions based on the confidence and trust people have in us.

Q: Apart from stressing that our 21 million citizens must be determined to defend their homeland at any time, given the ill-at-ease feeling among the populace, how would you resolve this crisis?

Peng Ming-min: Over the past 30 years, we have ceaselessly expressed goodwill to Beijing, maintaining that if the mainland government admits the right of Taiwanese to self-determination, our government would be the one closest and most friendly to Beijing.

What separates Taiwan and mainland China is not a problem of ideology, but rather historical facts. In terms of everything from geography to the legal system, politics and economics, Taiwan has been outside of China for over 100 years. What we are doing is insisting upon this reality. Taiwanese society has been different from that of China and is different from any other country. It has its special characteristics, and we should maintain its dignity and uniqueness. Based on this, Taiwan now has to march toward internationalization. It's not that we must internationalize, it's that the international community must become more international in outlook.

2. National security

Q: Since June of last year, Beijing has been incessantly unveiling all kinds of military threats. Recently these have invoked America's concern and attention. The USA has even established a task force for dealing with crisis in the Taiwan Strait. How do you view the role and influence the USA holds on the issue of Taiwan-mainland relations? In addition to political measures, do you agree that Taiwan should develop its own deterrent capability, including medium-range surface-to-surface missiles, to respond to mainland military threats?

Chen Li-an: Cross-strait relations are tense, and we have to make decisions by ourselves to be the master. We welcome and are thankful for the concern the world has for us, but we must never depend on them too deeply. We have appropriate defense powers to protect ourselves. In June of last year, the mainland began test-launching missiles in our direction and holding military exercises. Three times our Central News Agency published press releases to deny it, but later on, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed the news. Why would they deny it? People have the right to know. Everyone on Taiwan is in the same boat; we share the same fate.

Many people in central and southern Taiwan don't feel worried about cross-strait relations, but we are concerned about the country and the people, and we are telling the truth. So we advise our government and leaders what we should do. People can make a choice in the presidential election. It's too late to acquire medium-range missiles to tackle this pressing issue. We should focus on the presidential election.

Peng Ming-min: I've never requested any foreign force to protect us. Nowadays, international relations are closely linked. Every nation is concerned about tense situations throughout the world. America's "Taiwan Relations Act" stipulates that they should be concerned with peace in this region. We welcome the concern of the United States and other foreign countries. But what the US will do is their business. We don't have to request the world or the US to protect us. We also reject developing nuclear weapons.

Lin Yang-kang: We don't have to panic in the face of Beijing's military exercises, but we have to be highly alert. The purpose of the Chinese Communists is not really to hurt the people of Taiwan, and they don't really mean to occupy Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. But Beijing has many means at its disposal. We have to be cautious. We cannot depend on the aid and military presence of America. Also, America is a democratic country. It will take at least three to five days before they can deploy troops. By that time, the Taiwan area will have been visited by a formidable attack.

If we were to have medium-range missiles armed with conventional warheads, their destructive power and area of impact would be limited. If we are talking about missiles with nuclear warheads--we have signed the Nuclear Anti-proliferation Treaty, and if we develop nuclear weapons, the international community would punish us, and China could use it as an excuse to attack Taiwan. We can't take such a measure.

3. Foreign policy

Q: The past year was the stage where Taiwan had the highest international visibility, but it was also the most stressful period in terms of relations with mainland China. In the future, if you are elected, how will you balance relations with the international community and mainland China? In your term, will you pay visits to nations with which we have no diplomatic relations, such as America or Japan? Will you push for our participation in the United Nations?

Peng Ming-min: I've always advocated that we should keep our national status in the international community, as well as raise our international status. But mainland China has repressed such efforts on our part. This is unfriendly and unreasonable. They have to take into consideration the response from the international community and Taiwan. If we insist upon our own basic rights and firmly press forward, mainland China won't be capable of disturbing us.

If I am elected, I will change the national policies. I advocate Taiwan's active participation in international activities. As president, I would raise Taiwan's international profile, to let the international community know of the existence of Taiwan. If we have the chance, I will go on visits abroad when the time is right.

The DPP has been pushing for Taiwan to join the UN. When I am elected, I will keep pushing for this to let the international community know about our existence and to internationalize the Taiwan issue.

Lin Yang-kang: Expanding the Republic of China's international position and ensuring peaceful relations with mainland China are both important tasks, and both must be pursued in a balanced fashion. If we fail to achieve either of these goals in some regard, then we have failed at both.

Whether I would visit America or Japan after I'm elected president would depend on them. If the country concerned wouldn't honor me as the national leader of the Republic of China, or if I were not allowed to meet with the Japanese emperor or the American president, or if we didn't meet in diplomatic offices, if I were relegated to some kind of recreational venue, this would impinge upon our national dignity, and I wouldn't accept it.

As for joining the United Nations, I feel we should work at it slowly. We can first take part in the UN's subsidiary organizations, such as the World Trade Organization. And we need to open up relations with all the countries of the world. We should develop friendly multilateral relations in the international community, through economic aid and cooperation. After we have made these kinds of efforts, we certainly will see the day when we join the UN once again.

Chen Li-an: I believe there is no contradiction between developing relations with mainland China and strengthening our international relations. As for whether I would go abroad to visit other countries, that would depend on how we would benefit and what our motives were. The first time the president went abroad, everyone was excited, and Beijing reacted in opposition to it, so the first visit abroad was very exhilarating. But realistically, we shouldn't act in ways that are harmful to ourselves. Joining the United Nations is a question of feasibility. In the past several years, as our citizens have pushed for joining the UN, it has certainly served to lift the morale of our people. But we must also exercise restraint and go about it slowly. We can start by working hard within the UN's peripheral international organizations. We should first nurture our own strength, and when our strength has been built up, things will follow naturally. We will succeed in getting into the United Nations.

4. Economics

Q: A great many people hope that the economy will improve after the presidential election. If you are elected president, what kind of effective and beneficial policies will you propose to fulfill the expectations of these many people? During your four-year term, what kind of blueprint do you have for Taiwan's economic development, to guide all your countrymen into the 21st Century?

Lin Yang-kang: There are two major conditions for Taiwan's economy to continue its prosperous development: Number one, Taiwan and mainland China must maintain stable and peaceful relations. Without the stability of this greater environment, no one will feel secure or continue to invest. Number two, the government absolutely must be ethical. We must revise outdated laws and regulations.

Additionally, if we are to eliminate impediments to investment, we must extend the authority of the government. Furthermore, in upgrading manufacturing, we can't try to go off in every direction. We must devote our energies to only a few fields, like telecommunications. And we must work quickly to expedite direct connections in trade, transportation and postal services with the mainland; otherwise, plans to turn Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific "regional operations center" will come to nothing. Without two-way traffic with mainland seaports and airports, how could you talk about creating air and sea transport centers? It would be so much hot air.

Chen Li-an: Firstly, the tense state of affairs between Taiwan and mainland China must become calm, otherwise the huge amounts of capital that have flowed out of Taiwan won't flow back. If cross-strait relations have a serious impact on the will to invest, how can the economy be good? So tranquil relations with the mainland are the first order of business. We must also pay attention to improving the domestic investment climate. This includes reforming the law. Our overabundance of rules leaves the average citizen thoroughly perplexed. Simplifying laws and regulations is very important. Our government doesn't need to over-regulate.

To stimulate economic recovery, investment in public services is crucial, especially the promotion of public policy. Nowadays the government has no money, and we must get the private sector to start participating in large-scale public works projects. The private sector has capital and personnel; it has efficiency and resourcefulness. Projects that the government invests in always engender great amounts of waste. When we let the private sector freely operate, we can stimulate the country's economic recovery. I am very confident that after relations with mainland China are stabilized and the power of the private sector is increased and public policy gets on track, then the economy will revitalize.

Peng Ming-min: Taiwan's current economic problems can be divided into two categories. One is the people's loss of confidence in government. It's saddening that our present government is using threats from the outside to frighten the citizens, in order to attain the goals of the party or individuals.

The second point is that the economic system itself needs to be reformed. We must build a reasonable and equitable market economy, and an efficient and complete investment environment. Right now we have a serious problem with monopolies controlled by party-operated enterprises, state-run enterprises, publicly financed corporations, and so forth. So we have no way of genuinely opening up the market to let the people freely and fairly compete. There are too many special loans, special privileges and unjustifiable economic regulations. All of these things keep the people from fully acting on their own initiative. Also in the long term, Taiwan's foreign investment should be spread out in a number of countries and not just concentrated exclusively in the mainland.

5. The separation of powers

Q: What matters do you think a popularly elected president should administer, and which should he not administer? Some people believe that after democratic presidential elections have been instituted, there would be a stronger public mandate, and the president's power should increase. In the future, how will the president's and the premier's respective realms of authority be reconstituted?

Chen Li-an: The president must clearly know what he has to do and what he cannot do. He cannot abuse his power, otherwise he may become corrupted by power. A popularly elected president has been entrusted by the people. The extent of his rights and duties must be clear, so that the government can operate normally. We must respect the authority of the premier, and we must respect the operations of the five branches of government. For instance, the National Security Council should not be made use of rashly. The president should be the spiritual leader. He only needs to stand forth during critical moments, to make the people calm, to tell everyone where the crisis is. To bring everyone together and create a sense of solidarity, he must have a generous heart that unites everyone. Then government officials will know what to do; they will employ their own know-how and make good use of their subordinates. After I am elected president, I will certainly work according to these principles.

Peng Ming-min: The democratic election of the president does not mean that the president's powers will have expanded. His powers will be based on the will of the people, but that cannot completely alter the president's authority. Presently the substantive powers which the Constitution bestows upon the president include acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, guiding the nation's defense and diplomatic policy, and appointing Supreme Court justices and members of the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan. The powers of a more symbolic nature include promulgating the laws, but other government leaders must counter-sign; the power to declare martial law, but the Legislative Yuan must ratify it; and the power to take emergency action, but this can only be employed if the nation is in a crisis situation. We should not immediately change the powers of the presidency just because the president has been popularly elected.

Lin Yang-kang: Although the president will soon be directly elected by the people, we still must implement the cabinet system according to the spirit of the present constitution and the law. The current state of affairs is one in which the president has decision-making power but is not directly in charge of implementing policy, while the premier is responsible to the legislature but does not have full authority. This is not in accord with the spirit of a cabinet system. I do not agree with this kind of situation in which the president's authority sees unlimited expansion without checks and balance.

Although the president has the right to appoint the premier, the position of premier is also ratified by the Legislative Yuan, so the Legislative Yuan's powers of assent carry greater weight than the president's right to appoint. What I term "respecting the governing power" doesn't simply mean respecting the premier and the Executive Yuan, but also respecting the relationship between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan.