MA YING-JEOU AND FRANK HSIEH HOLD THEIR OWN IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000262

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: MA YING-JEOU AND FRANK HSIEH HOLD THEIR OWN IN
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE


Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/c)


1. (C) Summary: KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou and DPP candidate
Frank Hsieh both held their own in the first of two
media-sponsored presidential debates on February 24. The
debate, which featured 20 questions known to the candidates
in advance, was relatively low key, and neither candidate
suffered significant damage. Leading in public opinion
polls, Ma did not react strongly to sporadic attacks by Hsieh
but focused on explaining his policy ideas. Hsieh was less
successful in presenting his policies and was also unable to
draw Ma into battle. Commentators here generally credit Ma
with a better performance overall. A senior DPP official
suggested needs to focus on explaining his policies in more
depth in a series of upcoming policy presentation events
(quasi-debates) sponsored by the Central Election Commission.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) An impressive 39-45 percent of the electorate
watched the first of two media-sponsored presidential debates
on Sunday afternoon, February 24, according to two media
polls. The first and longest segment of the debate consisted
of the candidates' responses to 20 selected questions
selected from the public. The candidates, who were given the
questions in advance, had just 90 seconds to respond to the
question, followed by a 60-second response to a follow-on
question. Local commentators faulted the large number of
questions and compressed response times, plus the fact that
the format did not test the candidates' ability to think on
their feet, since their campaign teams had already had ample
time to prepare responses to each question. Each candidate
asked his opponent three different questions during the
second segment of the debate. Brief concluding statements by
the two candidates followed in the third and final debate
segment.


3. (C) Given the format of prearranged questions and brief
responses, most of this debate sounded low key and even
scripted. While neither candidate came across as a
compelling orator, both maintained their composure
throughout, and neither suffered significant damage. DPP
candidate Frank Hsieh, who did not appear fully prepared,
often looked at his notecards and consistently ran out of
time with the microphone fading out while he was trying to
wind up his responses. Ma Ying-jeou, on the other hand,
seemed to have spent more time and effort prepping for the
event as he controlled his time well and gave more detailed
answers to explain his policies.


4. (SBU) While most of the 20 questions from the public were
on domestic economic and social issues, one addressed the
Taiwan identity issue. A Hong Kong-born mainlander, Ma
Ying-jeou stressed that he is a Taiwanese, a citizen of the
Republic of China (ROC); that his mainland policy is "no
unification, no independence, no war;" and that he absolutely
will not discuss the question of unification with the PRC
during his term, if elected. Responding to a different
question, on Taiwan's diplomacy, Ma emphasized that he would
put the question of Taiwan's international space on the
agenda of cross-Strait negotiations.


5. (C) Two campaign-related issues stood out during the
debate: the question of Ma's green card, and the issue of KMT
attacks on Hsieh over corruption in the Kaohsiung city
government. Hsieh asked Ma whether he would be willing to
apologize to society if he or his wife had possessed U.S. or
Hong Kong citizenship or had continued to hold U.S. permanent
resident status prior to January 27. Deflecting Hsieh's
challenge, Ma said he had already answered the question last
month, explaining that he and his wife did not have
citizenship in another country and that they had both given
up their U.S. permanent resident status twenty years ago.


6. (C) The only flashes of emotion during the debate
occurred when Hsieh on two occasions took strong exception to
Ma's efforts to tarnish him with responsibility for
corruption. Ma tried to contrast his record as Taipei mayor
with Hsieh's record in Kaohsiung, pointing out that a number

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of members of Hsieh's team had been indicted or convicted for
corruption, whereas no member of his Taipei team had been
indicted for corruption. An angry Hsieh asked how Ma,
Taiwan's first presidential candidate to be indicted for
corruption, could have the gall to make such a charge. Hsieh
also accused the KMT of dirty politics by vilifying officials
who had been acquitted or were still in the trial process in
its negative ad campaign against Hsieh.

Reactions to Debate
--------------


7. (C) DPP Deputy Secretary General Tuan I-kang told AIT
that both candidates had held their own in the debate. Ma
delivered a solid "defensive" performance and avoided
mistakes, which as the front-runner is all he needed to do
for a successful performance. Hsieh, in comparison, went on
the "offensive," attacking and challenging Ma in the hope of
tripping him up. Tuan said a post-debate analysis conducted
by the DPP and Hsieh's staff concluded that Hsieh had not
prepared sufficiently for the debate, noting that Hsieh had
not controlled his time well and that he had focused too
heavily on attacking Ma without explaining his own position
on issues. Tuan said as a result Hsieh missed an opportunity
to present voters with a concise and coherent summary of his
policy views. The Hsieh campaign now hopes he can rectify
this lapse in three upcoming policy presentation fora
(quasi-debates) organized by the Central Election Commission.


8. (SBU) Tunghai University Professor Wang Yeh-li told the
media that the debate had served to consolidate support for
the two candidates within their own camps. Hsieh, who took
the offensive, was more eloquent, judging from his criticism
of Ma's integrity, while Ma focused on winning support by
emphasizing that he knew what the voters want. Few voters
would change their voting decisions as a result of the
debate, Wang predicted. According to KMT Legislative Yuan
Caucus Secretary General Fei Hung-tai, Ma's performance was
better because he was more friendly to the audience and also
more comprehensive in introducing his policies.

Debate's Impact on Polling Numbers Marginal
--------------


9. (C) According to public opinion polls conducted by the
media Sunday evening, the debate does not appear to have
significantly affected support for either candidate.
Overall, the polls gave Ma higher marks than Hsieh.
Unsurprisingly, however, Ma's supporters credited him with a
stronger performance, whereas Hsieh's supporters gave their
candidate the edge. According to a poll by the pro-KMT
United Daily News, Ma outscored Hsieh on policy content (55
vs. 19 percent) and poise (67 to 9 percent),while Hsieh won
on debating skill (47 to 30 percent).

YOUNG