Chang Po-ya draws up tough agenda

Taipei Times: You made an abrupt decision to run for Kaohsiung mayor after your nomination for Examination Yuan vice president was rejected by the legislature. Some people have questioned the legitimacy of this decision and suggested that you joined the race as a means of retaliation. What is your response to this criticism?

Chang Po-ya (張博雅): I have never had any intention to retaliate. In fact, the idea to run in this election first occurred to me after the Cabinet was reshuffled on Feb.1 [when Chang stepped down as the minister of the interior]. But President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) later nominated me for the vice presidency of the Examination Yuan.

Throughout my political career, I have weighed the opinions of voters before making most of my decisions. For example, after my mother Hsu Shih-hsien (許世賢) passed away in the middle of her term as mayor of Chiayi City, I went back to Chiayi to take over her position at the request of her constituency. Likewise, I joined the Cabinet of the central government at the invitation of the premier and president at that time. A similar situation occurred in the case of my nomination for Examination Yuan vice president. As a matter of fact, the Examination Yuan nominations involved complicated partisan interests, and some "political groups" even offered their votes for money. But I adhered to my integrity and rejected their offers. In the newspapers on June 22, there were detailed reports saying that I got cornered as the four political parties calculated their interests.

Praised by Chen as "having the most comprehensive administrative experience and excellent competency" and known as an incorruptible Cabinet member enjoying the highest popularity, I was nominated as the deputy of a person who had no administrative experience at all. Then I realized a person's talent and competency were not the main considerations behind the nominations.

A few days after that, I consulted voters and won their support for my candidacy in the Kaohsiung mayoral race. Today, after having had enough of the snobbishness of politics, I can finally decide on my own as to where and whom to serve. And so I have come back to Kaohsiung City, a place where I studied and taught for 20 years. I want to do my part for the 1.5 million Kaohsiung residents. Hopefully a member from Chiayi's Hsu family, who fought for two generations for the democratic development of Taiwan, will have the democratic ideal revived in the democratic holy land of Kaohsiung. During a previous debate for the mayoral candidates, former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) pointed out that the ruling party has lost its ambition to fight for democracy. Looking back on the contributions that the Hsu family has made to democracy in Taiwan over a period of nearly half a century, I would like to see this democratic model reappear here.

TT: With a background of being a member of a political family from Chiayi, what advantages do you enjoy over other candidates who emphasize their Kaohsiung nativity and close connection with the local communities of this city? How are you going to persuade the electorate to vote for you?

Chang: Ever since my mother entered politics in Chiayi City, our family has stuck to a non-partisan approach and challenged the ruling party. I've succeeded with my mother's model in Chiayi City and adhered to a non-partisan, incorruptible style. This is the reputation that we have built up over the past half a century, which has remained firm both during the time of authoritarian rule and after the transition of power. This is an advantage that I enjoy.