"When local people hear that we've paid out of our pockets and taken off from work and left our families just to join the campaign, they get very moved. For some I think it shocks them into having a stronger political consciousness," said Simon Lin.
Chou Chun-feng (周春豐), the vice director of the KMT's committee for Overseas Chinese, which is coordinating campaign activities for returnees, agreed that this group generates a domino effect among voters.
"I know of a doctor from Chiayi who lives in Chicago and who's come back to vote. He'll go home and meet with relatives and friends and while he's at it, he'll urge them to vote for Lien. And people will listen because he's a successful and respected doctor," he said.
One recent college graduate volunteer at the Tainan DPP campaign office, however, was less convinced that returnees had such a strong impact, moral or practical. "People my age would probably hear that they paid all that money to come back for an election and think, `what a bunch of fools.'"
Not surprisingly, Chang and Wang don't see themselves in that light. They're convinced of the correctness of their political views and of their plans for Taiwan and, more than most, they're willing to put their money where their mouth is to be an unpaid mercenary in this campaign.
When asked what they would do if their favored candidate lost, both said they'd be disappointed, but they added they'd be back in four years. "The way things work now with the democratic system, there's always another chance next time," Wang said.
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