台湾大选临近之际国民党考虑换人

Taiwan’s governing party has called a special congress to consider dropping its unpopular presidential candidate — just three months before an election that will set the tone for relations with Beijing.

台湾执政党举行一个特别会议，以考虑更换其人气不高的总统候选人。三个月后台湾就将举行大选，这场选举将为台海两岸关系确定基调。

In a rare race between two female leading contenders, Hung Hsiu-chu, a straight-talking legislator from the ruling Kuomintang or Nationalist party, has fallen 20 percentage points behind the frontrunner, opposition politician Tsai Ing-wen.

在少见的两位女候选人对垒的竞选中，直话直说的国民党立法委员洪秀柱(Hung Hsiu-chu)目前在民调中落后领先者、反对党政界人士蔡英文(Tsai Ing-wen) 20个百分点。

The KMT, which has ruled Taiwan for much of the period since it fled mainland China after losing the civil war with the Communists in 1949, decided yesterday it would hold the extraordinary meeting to “gather consensus and unite for victory”.

在内战中被共产党打败的国民党，在1949年逃离中国大陆以来的大部分时间里统治着台湾。该党昨日决定举行特别会议，以求“凝聚共识、团结胜选”。

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province. A victory for the opposition Democratic Progress party would strain relations with mainland China because Ms Tsai’s DPP takes a more strident position than the KMT on Taiwan’s independence.

北京方面认为台湾是一个叛离省份。反对党民进党如果赢得选举上台，将使台湾与大陆的关系趋向紧张，因为蔡英文的民进党在台湾独立问题上立场比国民党更强硬。

The KMT was trounced in local elections last year, as voters voiced frustration over the high cost of living and Taiwan’s economic dependency on mainland China.

国民党在去年的地方选举中一败涂地，选民们发泄了他们对生活费用高和台湾在经济上依赖中国大陆的不满。

Eric Chu, KMT chairman and mayor of New Taipei, said in a speech that for the legislative elections, which will be held at the same time as the presidential contest in January, were concerned about the effect Ms Hung was having on the party’s popularity.

国民党主席、新北市市长朱立伦(Eric Chu)在一次演讲中表示，立委选举（将与总统大选一起在明年1月举行）的多名候选人担心洪秀柱对党的民意支持率产生的影响。

“As the party chairman, I must honestly report to Ms Hung that during this time, many of us who are running for the 2016 legislature are facing difficulties,” he said.

“身为党主席，我必须诚恳、完整地向洪秀柱报告，尤其是这段期间，很多2016年立委参选同志面临困境，”他表示。

He also criticised Ms Hung for being too close to China, saying her views on cross-strait relations “deviate from mainstream public opinion”.

他还批评洪秀柱过于接近中国，称她对两岸关系的看法“与台湾主流民意有所偏离”。

Mr Chu has been touted by analysts as a possible replacement for Ms Hung, despite having declined to stand as the party’s presidential candidate before her formal selection in July.

分析人士认为，朱立伦可能取代洪秀柱，成为国民党提名的总统候选人，尽管他在今年7月洪秀柱被正式选定之前拒绝竞选总统。

Ms Hung, who is vice-president of the legislature, defended her stance, telling reporters “my campaign is to help our country find the right path, to help find a way out, a way to live and survive”.

身为台湾立法院副院长的洪秀柱捍卫了自己的立场，她告诉记者，“参选是要替国家确立正确道路，替台湾找出路、活路”。

Asked how she felt about her possible removal from the presidential race, she said: “I blame myself for not clearing things up. I stress again that we haven’t done enough communication. We will continue our work.”

在被问及对于她可能被取消提名资格有什么感想时，洪秀柱表示：“怪我自己，很多话没有说得很清楚，我一再强调，沟通做得不够，我们将继续努力。”

J Michael Cole of Thinking Taiwan, a think-tank backed by Ms Tsai’s foundation, said a victory for the DPP would send a strong signal to Beijing after eight years of rule by a KMT legislature.

得到蔡英文的小英教育基金会支持的智库——想想论坛(Thinking Taiwan)的寇谧将(J Michael Cole)表示，在国民党统治8年后，民进党胜选将向北京发出一个强大信号。

“After eight years of substantially closer relations, the fact that the public might vote out the KMT is quite significant,” he said. “It speaks volumes about the red lines that Taiwanese have drawn... how far a government can go in relations with China.”

“经过8年密切得多的关系后，公众可能在选举中把国民党赶下台这一点相当重大，”他说。“这充分说明了台湾人画出的红线……决定政府在与中国的关系上可以走多远。”