|
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
managed to retain its power base in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, while
its candidate for Taipei mayor, although he lost the race, was able to snatch
over 40 percent of the vote on December 9, giving the party a chance to regroup
in the midst of a political crisis triggered by a string of corruption scandals
involving members of the first family.
As President Chen Shui-bian has claimed, polling on December 9 was a vote
of confidence in former Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh's administrative performance
-- the city's citizens gave the DPP's nominee Chen Chu a narrow win over the
KMT's Huang Chun-ying.
Hsieh, who was recruited as premier by Chen Shui-bian before running for
Taipei
mayor, also managed to get 40 percent of the capital city's vote, more than the
36 percent won by Lee Ying-yuan, the DPP's previous candidate to challenge Mayor
Ma Ying-jeou, an indication that a moderate and forward-looking DPP aspirant can
still win the swing vote in
Taipei
.
DPP insiders said vote results on December
9 in
Taipei
and
Kaohsiung
signify that the DPP is gradually emerging from the dark clouds caused by a
number of corruption scandals involving the president's senior aides and family
members as well as Cabinet- level officials.
Political pundits noted that the DPP's popularity has never exceeded 35
percent, and Chen Shui-bian was able to win the 2000 and 2004 presidential
elections because middle-class voters who were disgruntled with the KMT had
voted for him, and so losing their support would be quite devastating for the
party.
From that perspective, the DPP leadership may no longer ignore calls for
"serious reform," which will be a critical indicator of whether the
party will be able to make a new start, they said.
For the KMT, the latest vote serves as a reminder that southern
Taiwan
is still out of its reach even though its rival has been bogged down by
corruption charges. And KMT leaders could not hide their shock that the DPP's
Hsieh has managed to break through the 40 percent benchmark in
Taipei
, the "pan-blue alliance's" stronghold.
The KMT was quite demoralized that its chances of winning
Kaohsiung
were dashed and its sure win of
Taipei
was not as big as had been anticipated.
(Source:
Central News Agency)
| 