Yan Cheng-li, left, vice president of the Beijing Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises, and a China-based Taiwanese student are shown at an airport in Beijing China as they prepare to take a flight back to Taiwan to participate in Taiwan's five municipality elections tomorrow.
(Note the flag they are holding - its the five petaled national flower of the ROC, adopted by the nation in the 1960s. This is because to show the actual ROC flag in Beijing would be illegal and it would be snatched away and destroyed. The businesses and students are so patriotic and wish to play an active role in their nation's politics that they are happy to live and work in a place that would lock them up for showing their own national flag. Go figure.)
A group of 163 Taiwanese students studying in Beijing took a charter flight today to return home to vote in Saturday's special municipality elections, one of three student groups taking advantage of a campaign to encourage overseas Taiwanese to vote.
The trip was partially sponsored by Taiwanese businesses based in Beijing as part of the campaign.
Taiwan does not currently allow absentee voting, forcing citizens living abroad to return to Taiwan if they want to cast a ballot in any election.
According to Yan Cheng-li, vice president of the Beijing Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises (BATIE) , two other groups of students totaling 100 people had returned to Taiwan during the previous two days.
All the students will go back to Beijing aboard a charter flight scheduled for Nov. 30, Yan said.
He said the flights cost approximately 1 million Chinese yuan (US$150,202), and each of the students joining the trip needed to pay only 500 yuan (US$75), with the rest covered by donations from BATIE members.
Lin Yi-chun, a doctoral candidate at Peking University who was one of the initiators of the campaign, said the purpose of the drive was to get as many people as possible to cast their votes in the elections.
Lin said she would vote for the political party that supports cross-Taiwan Strait peace, economic and cultural exchanges with China, and the recognition of Chinese diplomas. (This is largely the KMT's platform)
Kao Yi, another Peking University student who also took today's flight, said he had not decided whether to vote for the blue or the green camp, but stressed that all the students hoped that cross-strait peace could be achieved.
Meanwhile, many businessmen based in China also returned to Taiwan today in preparation for the elections.
Lee Mao-sheng, president of the Shanghai Association, said the business community was taking an active part in the elections because they hoped candidates supportive of cross-strait relations could get elected. (Code: They hope KMT candidates get elected. The DPP has not been framed in the media as a party that is supportive of cross-strait relations despite the party's subtle shift of policy under the Leadership of Tsai whereby the DPP is seeking to avoid confrontation and build cross-strait relations, just not at any price)
With the help of the association, airlines have offered preferential fares to Taiwanese citizens returning home for the elections. A round-trip flight between Shanghai and Taipei cost only 2,000 Chinese yuan, which is 1,500 cheaper than normal the price.
Conclusions:
Pan-blue businesses are mobilising student voters by essentially paying for their airfares.
Many airlines are working with pan-blue business associations to help mobilise voters.
Have pan-green business associations missed a trick here?
