Tibet hot topic in Taiwan elections, mainland-based Taiwanese businessmen rush home to vote

"Beijing blames the Dalai Lama for the events that took place. I want to clarify to all of you that the Tibetan people are fed up with 49 years of suppression and repression. This is a people's movement inside Tibet."

Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 of the Kuomintang, the more mainland-friendly of the two, while currently leading opinion polls, has rubbished Frank Hsieh's attempt to draw a link between Tibet and Taiwan:

'To draw an analogy between Taiwan and Tibet is an incorrect one,'

'Tibet is under mainland China rule, and Taiwan is not.'

Nevertheless, Ma has had to backtrack on his stance somewhat. Jonathan Manthorpe of the Canwest News Service reports:

Ma reiterated his policy of maintaining the status quo in relations across the 160-kilometre wide Taiwan Strait, but he did it in blunter language than he has done before.

The KMT leader said he would implement a policy of "no unification (with China), no independence and no use of force."

Taiwan, Ma said, will never be part of the People's Republic of China, though he holds out the possibility of talks on some form of political association if and when China becomes a democracy like Taiwan.

He also makes the following observation:

Even without the intervention of the Tibet crackdown, the two party positions on relations with China reflect a strengthening of public attitude in Taiwan during the eight years of the Chen presidency both against union with China and in support of the island's own cultural and political identity.

When Chen came to power in 2000 he held out the prospect of negotiations with Beijing on any topic at all if the Communist regime would drop its precondition for talks that Taiwan must accept it is part of China.

Both Hsieh and Ma have much more antagonistic policies towards Beijing because that is what public opinion demands.

As you read this, thousands of Taiwanese businessmen are now flying from the mainland back to Taiwan to vote. The results of this Saturday's election may well hinge on this segment of voters, who with their billions and billions of dollars invested in the mainland, perceive the ruling DPP as having done little to maintain their economic interests here and thus swing a few points in the Kuomintang's favour in this tightly-contested race.

Related links
AP: Tibet clampdown becomes an issue in Taiwan's presidential elections
Canwest News Service: Tibet unrest prompts Taiwanese parties to harden stance toward China
Reuters: Tibet bloodshed shakes up Taiwan election
BBC: Pro-Tibet demonstration in Taiwan
Reuters: No dramatic thaw with China likely after Taiwan poll
Macau Daily Times: Taiwanese businessmen in China return for presidential vote