Mon, Jan 07, 2008 page1

• Party heavyweights hit campaign trail

  STAR TURNS Leveraging support from the 'populars,' the political stars seen to be capable of adding votes, has become one of the most favored campaign tactics

  • By Huang Chung-jung / STAFF REPORTER, WITH CNA
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  With the legislative election battle reaching boiling point with less than a week to go, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) "big guns" engaged in non-stop campaigning around the country yesterday to stump for their prospective legislative candidates.

  President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who doubles as DPP chairman, was shaking hands and working the crowd in Taoyuan, Taichung and Miaoli yesterday morning. He then showed up at campaign rallies in Chunghua in the evening.

  Other pan-green heavyweights such as DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) also criss-crossed the nation stumping for their party's legislative hopefuls.

  

  A group of bellydancers perform at an election campaign meeting for Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Kao Chien-chih in Taipei yesterday. The poster in the background shows Kao, center, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, left, and Hsieh's running-mate Su Tseng-chang giving the thumbs up-sign.

  PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

  The pan-blue camp's big guns also spent the last Sunday before the legislative poll on Saturday gearing up support for the KMT's legislative candidates.

  Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who had not made many public appearances recently, has been on a tight campaign schedule for the past few days. He campaigned yesterday for five candidates in Pingtung and Kaohsiung, constituencies which are considered DPP strongholds.

  KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) appeared in Taipei, stumping for the KMT's candidates after attending a campaign event in Miaoli earlier in the day.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate William Lai, left, and the party's vice presidential candidate Su Tseng-chang yesterday attend a campaign activity in the Tainan district where Lai is running for a legislative seat.

  PHOTO: HUANG PO-LANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Later yesterday, Ma was at a campaign rally in Kaohsiung County while KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) was campaigning for a KMT candidate in Chiayi.

  Ma said candidates from all around the nation had urged him to campaign for them ahead of the election.

  KMT legislative caucus leader Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), an at-large candidate in this year's race, has been attending rallies around the country for fellow KMT candidates and said appearances by Ma have been an asset to their campaigns.

  While candidates could judge for themselves how many votes the big names would be worth in their constituencies, Kuo said that from her experience "most KMT candidates believe the charismatic Ma appeals to the voters and they want to capitalize on it."

  Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏), an incumbent KMT lawmaker locked in a tight battle in Changhua County, was one of those hoping to benefit from Ma's presence.

  He said he has found that his campaign gets a real boost when Ma arrives in the county and stumps on his behalf.

  Leveraging support from "Mr or Ms Popular" is becoming one of the most favored campaign tactics in this election. The "populars" are the political stars seen to be capable of livening up campaign platform presentations, fueling election battles and adding votes for the candidates they support.

  For the pan-green camp, Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) is considered the most effective "Mr Popular."

  DPP Legislator Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢), who is seeking re-election, said that to pan-green supporters, Shieh has become a hero and a "rock star" politician, with good stage charisma. He is youthful and energetic, penetrates to the core of the issues with his speeches, thinks fast yet logically and blends an international presence with a local mind, Chuang said.

  Chuang's comments were echoed by DPP Legislator Sandy Yen (莊和子), who also said Shieh was the pan-green camp's most sought after star campaigner.

  Other pan-green "populars" include Hsieh, Su and former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

  Among them, Hsieh's quick wit and humor is quite popular with the candidates, making him the runner-up behind Shieh, Chuang said. President Chen and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) are also popular star campaigners for their high fame and strong speeches, Chuang added.

  DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) had sought out Tsai Ing-wen for the campaign stage, saying that her androgynous image and charismatic personality were good assets to have in his district, which is more pan-blue than pan-green.

  But not all candidates favored the political stars as their campaign stumpers.

  DPP Legislator Huang Chao-hui (黃昭輝) said his "Ms Popular" was his "better half," former Kaohsiung city councilor Chen Ling-li (陳玲俐).

  Three years ago, when Huang ran for legislator, Chen Ling-li promised voters she would devote her full attention to helping her husband and give up her seat on the council should Huang be elected, Huang said.

  To this day, Chen Ling-li's grassroots work with the voters during her term as councilor still offers Huang tremendous help, for which he is extremely grateful, he said.

  KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄), who is seeking re-election in Taichung County, also said that he did not need the help of a star campaigner. Of course, he may feel a little less pressure -- the DPP failed to nominate anybody to oppose him.

  One KMT candidate, who asked to remain anonymous, said he did not want party heavyweights campaigning by his side because they would manipulate partisan divisions and emphasize the "pan-green" versus "pan-blue" divide.

  There were also mixed feelings in the pan-green camp toward having the big names appear on stage.

  Under the old system of multi-representative districts, appealing to one's core support base was sufficient to win a seat. In this year's legislative polls, however, candidates are generally engaged in two-horse races where independent voters could decide their fates. They were voters who were likely to be less impressed by the endorsement of party heavyweights engaging in partisan rhetoric.

  DPP candidate Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲), in a tight race against incumbent Non-Partisan Solidarity Union candidate Lee He-shun (李和順) in Tainan County, felt that with the DPP's historical strength in southern Taiwan, President Chen and other party heavyweights should attend more rallies there in order to energize the DPP's core support base.

  Huang said he did not worry that the president's speeches might drive away centrist voters because he had plenty of campaigning experience and knew what he should or should not say.

  On the other hand, incumbent DPP lawmaker Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進) from Changhua County felt that emphasizing partisan rifts would be disadvantageous to his bid for re-election.

  Chiu said star campaigners were useful in boosting a campaign team's morale, intimidating opponents and giving voters the impression that the candidate had a wide range of supporters, but that they do not necessarily win more votes.

  Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling and Flora Wang
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