Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

Taiwan’s voters will go to the polls on March 22^nd to elect a new president, with Chen Shui-bian going into retirement.  The Chinese National Party, the Kuomintang or KMT, which had been in power from 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island, to 2000 when Chen was first elected, has nominated Ma Ying-jeou, the former mayor of Taipei.  The Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, currently the ruling party, has nominated Frank Hsieh Chang-ting, the former mayor of Kaohsiung, the island’s second city.  Each candidate has called for a less confrontational relationship with China, and for improved relations with the United States.  But strong differences persist, particularly on the issue of fostering a Taiwanese identity separate from China.

Join us as three experts with long experience in Taiwan politics discuss the differences, the shape of the race, and its effect on U.S. interests.