Newsmakers: Mayor Ma is seeking re-election but he remains coy about presidential plans

Though Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is coy about his presidential ambitions, many in the KMT hope the Taipei mayor, true to form, will run in 2004.

Last week, Ma announced that he would seek a second term as Taipei mayor next year.

While he downplayed the possibility of running in the next presidential contest, his comments left open the chance that he would.

"The party will choose its [presidential] candidate according to the party process," Ma said.

That Ma is a rising star within the KMT is undeniable. Ma finished first in the KMT's Central Standing Committee elections at its 16th national congress this year.

After noting KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) pathetic lack of public appeal, many frustrated party members have come to place their hopes in Ma, who is listed among the public's most popular politicians. Desperate to return to power, many KMT members consider Ma their trump card.

Ma, however, has spoken on many occasions of his disinterest in the 2004 presidential race.

The mayor, however, has a history of feigning a lack of interest and then jumping in when the time suits him.

The 1998 Taipei City mayoral race is a perfect example.

After repeating over 200 times that he wasn't interested in being mayor of Taipei, Ma eventually decided to stand against then-mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who lost his bid for re-election.

The Taipei mayoralty has long been a springboard for higher political office. Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and current President Chen both served as Taipei mayor before landing the nation's top job.

To most who observe the halls of power, it is just a matter of time before the 51-year-old Ma decides to run for the presidency.

Commenting on Ma's governing style, Pai Hsiu-hsiung (白秀雄), Taipei's deputy mayor, said that "talent like Ma's is rare in the KMT."

"While others see Ma as somewhat slow in his policy-making, it is simply that Ma is detail-oriented in his decision making," Pai said.

Pai's comments echoed what Tung Chih-sen (董智森), a veteran journalist, once said of Ma. Tung, comparing Ma to a marathon runner, said that "though Ma's policies create little instant impact, they often generate solid outcomes in the end."

"He [Ma] is diligent and responsible in his work," Pai said, adding that when tackling issues in meetings, Ma always tries his best to make sure he is considering all relevant departments.

But despite Ma's best efforts, his administration has been caught up in controversy for months.

Just last week, DPP city councilors questioned Ma's patriotism after the mayor told fans at an international soccer event hosted by Taiwan earlier this month to leave the nation's flag at home.

Ma was also heavily criticized in September for taking inadequate precautions after Typhoon Nari ravaged the city, killing 27 residents and causing floods that left parts of the MRT system down for over a month.

Ma was also embarrassed by a string of scandals early in August, when Taipei policemen were accused of running call-girl rings and of detaining prostitutes to extort money from pimps

In response, the mayor promised in September to completely rid Taipei of prostitution within 90 days.

But in early November, acknowledging the difficulty of stamping out the city's entire sex industry, Ma backed off his promise, saying that "the ultimate goal of the intensive police crackdown is not to drive out the sex industry, but to smoke out all corrupt police officers."