Taipei Times: What are the main themes of your campaign?
Perng Shaw-jiin (
Also, the county's main roads and streets are rather narrow compared to those of other cities. We will seek to widen some and extend others in the near future as part of a comprehensive program to rebuild Taoyuan's transportation network.
Additionally, we will make it our goal to help all schools purchase computers so students can learn how to use the Internet in the classroom. We will also give teachers more say in the making of school policy.
Like the rest of the nation, Taoyuan also suffers from rising unemployment. We will work hard to create employment opportunities, open vocational training programs and sponsor job fairs to match job seekers with prospective employers.
Taoyuan is blessed with a number of geographical advantages in that it is close to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport and several popular tourist resorts. We have several large shopping malls as well. We will heavily promote the aviation and tourist industries.
The government is planning to build a trade park that will host Asia's largest exhibition hall here in Taoyuan. When completed, it will bring billions of NT dollars to Taoyuan each year, creating many jobs for local residents.
Of course, we aim to strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection while pursuing these goals.
TT: How is your campaign going thus far?
Perng: So far so good, though all the polls put me far behind my KMT rival Chu Li-luan (
During the legislative elections in 1995 and 1998, pundits said I would be an also-ran and predicted that I would poll little more than 10,000 votes. In the end, I drew over 60,000 and 46,000 ballots in those two races, out-performing all other DPP candidates in Taoyuan.
History may repeat itself this time. It will take about 400,000 ballots to carry the election [in Taoyuan], and no one can tell for sure what the outcome will be at this stage.
TT: What do you feel are your strengths compared to Chu?
Perng: I'm resolved, experienced, upright and hardworking. We both have doctoral degrees, though in different fields. But I'm more familiar with the county and enjoy more grassroots support. I worked as a prosecutor here for almost 10 years. This experience has given me an understanding of the people in Taoyuan.
Also, during my time as a lawmaker, I diligently served my constituents and regularly visited the communities that make up the county. This deepened my knowledge of what Taoyuan residents really want.
As a DPP legislative leader, I had the opportunity to attend the weekly nine-member meeting headed by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and participated in the formation of key government polices.
Chu, on the other hand, has none of these experiences. The KMT candidate has only been a legislator for three years and rarely spends time with his constituents.
TT: How are you financing your campaign? Has the DPP been helpful in this regard?
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