Candidates vying to represent Kaohsiung in the nation's legislature are banking on grass-roots support and their history of service to the public to win office.
"All politics is local," as the popular saying goes.
Nowhere is that more true than in Kaohsiung.
"My family tree is deeply rooted in the city," said KMT hopeful Chiang Yi-wen (
Like Chiang, the KMT's Yao Kao-chiao (
"Having headed the city's police department for five years, I have helped improve the city's security and many locals have thanked me for my efforts," Yao said.
But political watchers say Yao may face challenges and opposition, as much of Kaohsiung's sex industry is located in his constituency.
In addition, the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) Lo Chi-ming (
The KMT's Tseng Chang-fa (
Compared to the KMT, the DPP has less trouble emphasizing its grass-roots appeal -- making elections in Kaohsiung an easy race for DPP candidates.
Take for example Chu Hsin-yu (
"There are just some `strange' types of groups who will vote for him. That's good enough to get him elected though his poll figures are always low," a DPP official said.
And even though DPP contender Kuo Wen-cheng (郭玟成) has refused to talk to the media, he still enjoys support from voters.
Serving your constituency rather than basking in the public limelight is the most effective way to secure votes, the DPP official said.
One likely winner in Kaohsiung is up-and-coming DPP politician Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), the son of Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), the deputy secretary-general to the president.
Political observers say Chen, who won 98,553 votes three years ago, might be able to help other DPP candidates get elected.
Liao Da-chi (
Liao estimates that roughly 40,000 votes are enough to get elected this year.
Newcomer and doctor Lin Chin-hsin (林進興), who will be running on a DPP ticket, faces a tough battle but believes his record of providing free medical services to the poor will help him win votes.
Of Kaohsiung's 36 candidates, the New Party's Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) and People First Party's Chiu Yi (邱毅) are the two that lack local connections.
"To the advantage of both, they are famous nationally," said Wang Chi-tsong (王啟聰), director of the PFP's Kaohsiung headquarters.
Wang said he hoped campaign rallies featuring Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) will help drum up support for the PFP.
Soong garnered 300 million votes in the city during last year's presidential election.
The party's campaign message is that a vote for a PFP candidate is a vote for Soong.
The PFP's campaign slogan is "Giving Soong a hand again."
Election prospects for the 16 independent candidates running in Kaohsiung are expected to be slim.
During the last legislative election, 81,083 votes came from non-partisan supporters, who mostly voted for Lin Hong-tsung.
Lin has now joined ranks with the KMT, and observers say that he is likely to siphon off votes from independent candidates.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
HIGH-TECH DEAL: Chipmakers that expand in the US would be able to import up to 2.5 times their new capacity with no extra tariffs during an approved construction period Taiwan aims to build a “democratic” high-tech supply chain with the US and form a strategic artificial intelligence (AI) partnership under the new tariffs deal it sealed with Washington last week, Taipei’s top negotiator in the talks said yesterday. US President Donald Trump has pushed Taiwan, a major producer of semiconductors which runs a large trade surplus with the US, to invest more in the US, specifically in chips that power AI. Under the terms of the long-negotiated deal, chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) that expand US production would incur a lower tariff on semiconductors or related manufacturing
RSS