New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) announcement that he will run for re-election has caused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to forget the recent series of corruption scandals. No wonder KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) says that he finds the announcement stimulating.
New Taipei City is very close to Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan County. Without a strong mayoral candidate in New Taipei City to link the region together, it would be difficult for the KMT to launch a vigorous campaign in the north.
With the situation being so clear, it is odd that Chu would decide to announce he would run again in the manner he did, and it implies that the KMT is experiencing problems with its internal organization and coordination.
If people found Chu’s announcement so stimulating, the KMT should have taken the opportunity to maximize its impact.
It could, for example, have held a large press conference for Chu, with Lien and the party’s Taoyuan County commissioner candidate John Wu (吳志揚) sitting next to him.
This would have distinguished Chu’s strategic value on the one hand, and show the party’s unity on the other. Chu could also have invited some local heavyweights and the KMT’s New Taipei City Chapter director Chang Yi-hua (張逸華) to emphasize his love for the city and his determination to seek re-election, clearing any public doubts that he might run for president in 2016, only halfway through the mayoral term.
However, Chu did not play any of these standard political tricks.
Instead, he chose to announce his bid on Facebook, followed by a simple public statement at a regular city affairs meeting, depriving the KMT of an opportunity to build campaign momentum.
As an experienced politician, Chu clearly understands the rules of political maneuvering, which makes one wonder if his surprise move was intended to send a message.
Four years ago, Chu, who was then vice premier, “demoted” himself when he ran for New Taipei mayor, defeating then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and making a significant contribution to the KMT.
However, judging from appearances, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has not paid special attention to the development of New Taipei City following Chu’s election, nor has it actively promoted his political career.
It is easy to see why Chu would be unhappy when the party now wants him to boost its momentum in the north of the nation.
Nevertheless, politicians will shake hands with the devil, so the experienced Chu is unlikely to pick a fight with the party just to vent his anger.
Chu’s unexpected announcement, without the presence of high-ranking KMT officials and other mayoral and commissioner candidates is a sign that he will run a campaign characterized by his personal style.
Despite the Ma administration’s low approval ratings and the corruption scandals in Keelung and Taoyuan, Chu’s popularity has remained high and he has even been seen as a possible successor to Ma. This is all related to his well-packaged personal image and personal qualities.
This makes it very likely that he will dominate the planning of his campaign and let the party’s organization and vote captains stay in the background, so that the party’s usual organization and use of vote captains will not hurt his image.
It is easy to see that the party will merely play a secondary role at his campaign office.
As the KMT is relegated to the back seat, the party’s hopes that Chu will lead its campaign in northern Taiwan may just be wishful thinking.
Lien and Wu are both from rich and powerful families, and that is not a benefit for them when compared with the fresh image Chu has been carefully cultivating.
In the past, he even drew a line between himself and his own father-in-law, Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), the KMT’s former speaker in the defunct Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
If that is Chu’s approach toward close relatives, he will definitely keep his distance from Lien and Wu for the sake of his image.
Since the DPP’s mayoral candidate for New Taipei City, Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), is unlikely to pose a big threat, some in the pan-blue camp are hoping that Chu will visit other cities and counties to build momentum for allied candidates.
However, for any politician who aims for the presidency, maintaining his or her personal image is far more important than currying favor with local political forces.
The Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) phenomenon in the Taipei mayoral election has made the pan-blue and pan-green camps realize that the “e-generation” media have turned traditional organization and formulaic propaganda on its head.
If the KMT’s future political stars continue to be obsessed with holding hands and chanting campaign slogans, that will be the end of the KMT.
Yang Tai-shuenn is a professor in the Graduate School of Political Science at Chinese Culture University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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