Members of the pan-blue camp have voiced mixed reactions to the newly-founded Taiwan Democratic School (TDS,
Hsu founded the political group yesterday, calling it an alternative option for voters who are disappointed with both the nation's pan-green and pan-blue camps in the wake of the March 20 presidential election.
He said the purpose of the school is to promote Taiwan's long-term democratic education, and added that the school will, in the near future, register with the Ministry of the Interior as a political party and will nominate candidates for the year-end legislative elections.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Members of the group's administration include prominent film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (
Given that these people have in the past exhibited an obvious tilt toward the pan-blue camp, some analysts say the participation of the group's candidates in the legislative elections would likely skim votes off of the pan-blue camp.
The weekly demonstrations spearheaded by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance after the presidential elections have turned off many moderate blue supporters, analysts say, and polls have indicated that the pan-blue camp has seen a decline in its support rates as a result.
"On top of that, given the current situation, in which the KMT, the PFP and the New Party are still struggling over their nomination schemes for the legislative elections, the formation of the Taiwan Democratic School is likely to add a new impetus to the pan-blue camp's overall electoral strategy," said Chin Heng-wei (
"The participation of Hsu's group will have an impact on the pan-blue camp's nomination scheme," Chin said, saying that there were few votes for Hsu's group to seek, as the "pan-blue pie" is already mostly devoured between the KMT, the PFP and the New Party.
Chin's remarks were similar to concerns voiced by KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (
"To be frank, the participation of these pan-blue camp `friends' in the year-end legislative elections will take away votes from fellow pan-blue camp candidates," Chen said, adding that it would be up to the voters to decide as to how many votes the new group will earn.
PFP Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said that he thinks the candidates to be nominated by the Taiwan Democratic School will be more likely "to ruin things than accomplish success [for the pan-blue camp]."
"What I mean is, while it would be hard for these candidates to be elected because of their lack of back-up and support from a political group, the possibility of them dragging down both the KMT and the PFP is pretty high," Chiu said.
Liu Wen-hsiung (
Liu, noting that Hsu's group shared the KMT and the PFP's belief about the necessity of supervising the ruling party, said that the pan-blue camp should cease worrying about split-votes because of Hsu's group.
"KMT and PFP members should not view the formation of the Taiwan Democratic School with an attitude of blockade," Liu said.
"On the other hand, we should further engage in introspection and seek cooperation with fellow groups to promote a unity of all opposition parties," Liu said, adding that a political party only has itself to blame should its votes be carved away by others.
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