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Updated Monday, August 6, 2007 0:00 am TWN, The China Post staff

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Ma must open up to central and southern Taiwan: KMT

Kuomintang (KMT) party officials said yesterday that presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou should display more openness towards local communities in central and southern Taiwan on the eve of his extended visit to Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan Counties.

KMT spokesman Su Chun-ping said that the policies Ma advocated during his previous campaign stopover in Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou Counties have succeeded in swaying the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to deliver policy promises to the people. During his stay, Ma promised to raise subsidies for elderly farmers from NT$1,000 to NT$6,000 and extend mandatory public education by one year.

However, KMT organizational development committee’s Liao Feng-de said that Ma’s background as a scholar from the city will create a wall in his interactions with local communities in central and southern Taiwan. To overcome this, Liao recommended that Ma display more "openness."

Ma’s aides said that the tough battle will begin tomorrow during his long stay in southern Taiwan, which has favored DPP in past elections. Ma is expected to focus his campaign message tomorrow on environmental protection and agricultural issues.

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