The turnout at last Sunday's campaign rallies indicates that both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regard the election for the Taipei County commissionership to be the most decisive battle.
Whether DPP candidate Luo Wen-chia (
For the DPP, it is a battle to guard its one and only fortress in the north and also the frontline of the 2008 presidential election.
PHOTO: WU CHIA-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
For DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) the local election will be an indication of his chances in the 2008 presidential election. For the KMT, it is a campaign to regain possession of lost territory and also the first test of KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) personal charisma since he took over as the leader of the KMT.
There are 3.7 million people living in Taipei County. The results of the past few elections reveal that the choices of Taipei County's voters often indicate who will win the presidential election.
Therefore, neither the DPP nor the KMT can afford to lose Taipei County on Saturday.
Over the past 16 years, DPP candidates have governed the county government, even though the pan-blue supporters account for nearly 55 percent of the county's eligible voters. The DPP has been able to best the KMT's candidates -- by a narrow margin -- because of the disunity within the pan-blue camp.
However, for Luo it is by no means an easy task this time. The DPP's control of Taipei County is an asset as well as a burden for him. Although he has more political and administrative experience than Chou does, Luo's campaign has been rocked by a series of scandals.
Although Luo's support had been flagging for a long time, his campaign started to pick up speed after he proposed the "New DPP Movement" advocating profound self-examination within the party.
Riding on the rising wave of support, Luo gained real momentum after he accused Chou of exploiting his position as provincial councilor in 1997 to obtain an NT$12 million (US$450,000) loan from Taiwan Business Bank for investing in a ready-to-wear firm, Yungchou Company, without offering any security.
Chou's company had refused to pay off that loan.
After a series of trials, the court eventually ruled that Chou had to pay the bank NT$15 million.
He has only paid NT$2 million so far, using his lawmaker's power to avoid paying the rest, Luo said.
Chou has refused to respond to the scandal, rejecting it as a form of negative campaigning.
Chou even burst into tears at a campaign rally when he mentioned Luo's claims.
According to a poll conducted by the Liberty Times, sister newspaper of the Taipei Times, Luo is currently trailing behind Chou by only 1.5 percentage points. The DPP candidate had lagged 20 percentage points behind Chou at one time.
The most significant difference in their campaign platforms is the candidates' policy on the merging of Taipei City and Taipei County. Chou insists that Taipei County should be merged with Taipei City, which he says will give the county access to a bigger budget and more resources. Chou's idea has been strongly endorsed by Ma, who promised to initiate the merger as soon as Chou is elected.
Luo opposes the merger on the grounds that Taipei County should reserve its autonomy, saying its relation to Taipei City should be both competitive and cooperative. Luo proposes a concept of "twin cities" in which Taipei County could be transformed into a city that offers leisure and sightseeing possibilities, while Taipei City remains a political and financial center. This would mean that Taipei County would not become dependent on Taipei City, Luo says.
With the election only a few days away, the key to winning Taipei County depends on which candidate has more appeal among steadfast party supporters and neutral voters, as the turnout is expected to be as low as 60 percent, with a final margin of only about 50,000 votes, according to a DPP campaign strategist.
Chou Hsi-wei 周錫瑋
Party: Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
Born: 1958 in Taipei
Education: BA in Mass Communications from Fu Jen Catholic University, MA in Public Administration and MBA from the University of Southern California
Political background:
1996-1998: Councilor in the Taiwan Provincial Assembly
1998-2005: Legislator in Taipei County
Luo Wen-chia 羅文嘉
Party: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Born: 1966 in Taoyuan
Education: BA in Political Science from National Taiwan University
Political background:
1988: Leader with the Student Movement that demanded political reform
1994-1997: Spokenman and director of the Department of Information in the Taipei City Government
1999-2000: DPP spokenman campaign manager for Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) presidential campaign in 2000
2000: Vice chairman of the Council of Cultural Affairs
2001-2004: Legislator
2004-2005: Chairman of the Hakka Affairs Commission
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