Taiwan president picks running mate for 2012

Taiwan's China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou on Sunday nominated Premier Wu Den-yih as his running mate for January's presidential polls which are likely to be keenly watched by Beijing. The presidential ticket is expected to be formally endorsed by the ruling Kuomintang party during a national congress on June 25. "I want to use today's press conference to announce that Premier Wu will be my running mate in the next presidential elections," Ma said in Taipei. "The reason why I decided to choose Wu as my partner is that he came from the grass-roots and since he served as the premier more than a year ago, he has been able to face issues and solve them properly." Cheng Wen-tsang, a spokesman for the opposition pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said: "the choice is not a surprise at all". Analysts said Beijing is likely to keep a close eye on the polls as a DPP victory could chill the rapidly warming cross-Strait ties. "The Chinese leaders fear that if the DPP seizes power again, it will increase uncertainty over the hard-won ties," Chang Ya-chung, political science professor at National Taiwan University, told AFP. "Beijing will try everything it can to get Ma re-elected. They will give as much as possible what Ma wants to maintain his popularity." Chang pointed to the recent lifting of a decades-old ban on Taiwan visits by individual Chinese tourists as well as the increase in direct flights across the Taiwan Strait. Ma, who has focused on improving ties with China since taking office in 2008, will take on the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen, the island's first female presidential candidate. Ma hailed Wu's cabinet, saying it had cut Taiwan's unemployment rate to 4.29 percent in April, down from a record high of 6.13 percent in August 2009. Taiwan's economy last year expanded 10.88 percent, a 24-year high, fuelled by rapid growth in China, the island's main trading partner, Ma said. However, recent polls indicate that Ma and Tsai currently enjoy similar levels of public support. The DPP has accused Ma of compromising Taiwan's sovereignty in exchange for economic benefits from Beijing. The election will be held in January with the winner taking office in May 2012. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949 but Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Ties were strained while the DPP was in power but have improved markedly since Ma took office and began promoting trade and tourism with the mainland.