Young Taiwanese Voters Worried About Jobs, Not China

For more news and videos visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com<br />Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision<br />Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C<br /><br />As election day fast approaches in Taiwan, the two presidential candidates are targeting young voters and attempting to appeal to their concerns. And the issues are plain: they want good jobs and better wages. For young voters, these immediate economic concerns are above the hot button issue of cross-strait relations with China.<br /><br />With Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday, the race between opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wen and incumbent Ma Ying-jeou is neck-and-neck.<br /><br />The camps of the two candidates are furiously competing for the votes of a key demographic—young, first-time voters aged 20 to 24.<br /><br />Political debate in Taiwan has traditionally been dominated by the question of Taiwan's identity and relations with Mainland China. The Chinese Communist Party sees the self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reunited with the Mainland by force if necessary.<br /><br />But for young Taiwanese voters, it's jobs and wages at the top of their list of concerns.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Unemployment for this group is roughly at 13 percent, which is way above the national average of just four percent. And salaries for many young, college-educated professionals are so low that they cannot hope to afford to buy a home.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />But some voters want more independence for Taiwan's economy.<br /><br />[Chiu Li-fen, Pharmacist]<br />"I don't think we can rely on the ECFA to change Taiwan's economy. China promised to spend billions to buy our fruit but it did not happen."<br /><br />Tsai advocates a Taiwan consensus, arrived through Taiwanese people's democratic will, as the basis for future negotiations with Mainland China.<br /><br />But given the DPP's pro-independence history, Beijing remains suspicious of Tsai and her party, preferring Ma for his pursuit of closer economic relations with the Mainland.