Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen (L) leaves after the second live policy address ahead of January's election in Taipei, December 25, 2019. /Reuters Photo
Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen is incompetent and has been "hijacked" by top officials in her administration, said Han Kuo-yu, the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party candidate in Taiwan's 2020 leadership election.
At the second platform presentation for the election on Wednesday, Han said Tsai is surrounded by corrupt officials and factions and is thus unable to make changes. Tsai is the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the January 11 election.
Tsai's administration has been "hijacked" by Chen Chu, "secretary-general" of her office, and Su Tseng-chang, chief of Taiwan's executive body, Han said. "Has Su Tseng-chang ever informed you or respected you when he makes personnel arrangements?" Han asked Tsai, noting that her lack of power has allowed her administration to grow corrupt.
Han Kuo-yu (L7), mayor of Taiwan's Kaohsiung city, poses for a group photo after the signing ceremony of fruit and fishery product deals worth 30 million U.S. dollars with local enterprises in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 26, 2019. /Xinhua Photo
Cross-Strait relations have seriously worsened since Tsai took power in 2016, as she refuses to adhere to the 1992 Consensus. Beijing says the consensus embodies the one-China principle and clearly defines the fundamental nature of cross-Strait relations.
"How can we make breakthroughs (in economy) without stable cross-Strait relations?" James Soong Chu-yu, the People First Party candidate, said during the presentation.
Soong also stressed that Tsai has been "hijacked" by factions.
At a press conference on Wednesday, a Chinese mainland spokesperson accused the DPP authority of creating "green terror" on the island.
In Taiwan, the pro-independence DPP and its supporters are described as the "green" camp, while the KMT party and its supporters are called the "blue" camp.