President Ma friendly to Japan: campaign manager

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou is not China-leaning and Japan-bashing as painted by the opposition party, the deputy leader of a visiting Taiwanese delegation said here Wednesday.

"Ma is not only a leader who really knows Japan, but is a Japan-friendly one in action," said King Pu-tsung, Ma's election campaign manager, in a speech at Waseda University.

King started the speech by saying the 2008 romantic film "Cape No. 7" illustrates the historic links between the peoples of Taiwan and Japan.

He displayed two photos, one showing Ma and his wife at a televised donation drive on March 16 for Japan's earthquake reconstruction, and the other of Ma presiding over the opening of a park May 8 in honor of the late Japanese engineer Yoichi Hatta.

Hatta is credited with building the Wushantou Reservoir and Chianan Canal in Tainan, southern Taiwan.

King said that because Ma has not had many exchanges with Japan previously, some have speculated that the Japanese government would not trust Ma and that Taiwan-Japan ties would retrogress.

But in fact, since the Ma took office in 2008, his administration has promoted bilateral links and even termed Taiwan-Japan ties as "special partnership relations," King said.

With Taiwan's signing of a major trade pact with China last year, Taiwan and Japan can jointly access the mainland Chinese market, he said.

Noting that Taiwan and Japan signed an investment protection accord last month, he said Japanese businesses could use Taiwan as a springboard to make inroads into the Chinese market.

Within this new environment, it is time to scrap the old mindset of Taiwan joining forces with Japan to fight against China, or linking with China against Japan, he said.

The new thinking should be about what is mutually beneficial to Taiwan and Japan, he added.

After the speech, King was asked what mainland China can learn from Taiwan in terms of democratic reform.

He said that competition makes for progress, pointing out that Taiwan has a multiparty political system, while China is under one-party rule.

King is expected to give a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club on Thursday.

The Taiwan delegation, headed by Vice Legislative Yuan Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan, will call on Japanese party officials, lawmakers and former Prime Ministers Taro Aso and Yukio Hatoyama, starting Thursday.

The delegation will also attend rallies in Tokyo on Friday and Osaka on Saturday to drum up support for President Ma's reelection and to urge Taiwanese expatriates to return home to vote in the Jan. 14 presidential and legislative election. (By Yang Ming-chu, Tso Yuan and Lilian Wu) Enditem/ pc

Source: Focus Taiwan