Blue camp finds results encouraging

The KMT and PFP yesterday were thrilled with Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) overwhelming victory in Taipei while refusing dwell on Huang Jun-ying's (黃俊英) marginal defeat in Kaohsiung.

Both parties were encouraged by the elections and said they want to continue their cooperation in the future.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said Ma's triumph in the Taipei mayoral race indicated "the victory of Taipei residents and the country's democracy."

In addition to thanking the party's supporters, Lien expressed his gratitude to the party's allies, including the PFP and the New Party, and all residents for their support of Ma.

"We realize that every vote carries a responsibility and every vote represents a show of affection," Lien said "We definitely will humble ourselves and keep in close contact with the people to understand their voices, turning into reality our promises and policies."

KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) said Ma's big win showed that Taipei residents are tired of agitation, yelling, mudslinging and ethnic confrontation.

"The voters have had enough of vicious campaign gimmicks," Lin said.

He said the poll is a vote of confidence in Ma's performance over the past four years, allowing him to continue to develop Taipei into a world-class capital in the next four years of his term.

On the Kaohsiung mayoral race, Lin said it is a pity that the party's candidate, Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), failed to unseat the DPP's Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), but that Huang's performance was commendable.

"Though initially lagging behind, he [Huang] managed to catch up and was eventually neck and neck with Hsieh. This shows the spirit of Kaohsiung residents, who adhere to and fight for democracy," Lin said.

According to Lin, Huang was defeated not because Hsieh was more capable than Huang, but because of the "vicious campaign culture" adopted by his opponent.

"For Huang Jun-ying, it is glorious despite the defeat," Lin said.

Lin said the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections have opened the opportunity for cooperation between the opposition forces, though they were unable to win both mayoral seats this time.

Lin urged the DPP to listen to the voice of the people and review its drawbacks to seek improvement.

For example, Lin said, there have been reports that the Kaohsiung City government abused its administrative resources to interfere in the election, while allegations of vote-buying were wide-spread during the final two days before the poll.

"Otherwise, the people will express their discontent with their votes in the next election," Lin said.

Agreeing with Lin, PFP Secretary-General David Chung (鍾榮吉) said the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections have highlighted the importance of cooperation and solidarity within the opposition forces.

Chung said Ma's victory in Taipei proved that the campaigning efforts of the DPP and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) were futile, as he said the people wanted to teach the DPP a lesson.

"The people have cast a no-confidence vote in the DPP," Chung said. "This is what we have been urging the people to do -- to express their disapproval of the incompetence of the DPP government."

Although Huang failed to win in Kaohsiung, he collected 47 percent of the vote, Chung noted.

"If the DPP does not face up to reality and review its mistakes, we will be feeling even more worried about the country's future under the DPP leadership," Chung said.