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DPP takes Yunlin County for the first time

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday took control of Yunlin County for the first time, after its candidate Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) received strong support with more than 200,000 ballots. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Hsu Shu-po's (許舒博) roughly 160,000 ballots were not enough to continue the KMT's five-decade rule in the county, one of the poorest in the nation.

Su, a 53-year-old former DPP legislator from a political family with a long history in Yunlin, ran on a platform of turning the county into the nation's "Agricultural Capital," or its most competitive farming region.

Su declared victory at 6:40pm after the returns showed an insurmountable lead over her rival.

"I appreciate Yunlin residents' decision, which gives me a chance to upgrade our agriculture into a more competitive industry," Su said.

Su thanked her staff for working on her campaign for more than a year. She had also been able to gain the backing of supporters of her parents, who were democracy pioneers and victims of the "White Terror" during the KMT's authoritarian rule.

Su has a track record of involvement in the nation's major environmental issues, and has proposed a range of solutions for the difficulties faced by local farmers.

Since Taiwan joined the WTO in 2002, a compulsory fallow-field policy has been implemented to avoid creating a surplus of fruit and vegetables, and to help tackle water shortage problems. Farmers in more than 10 of the county's townships have been affected.

Political commentator Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) said yesterday that Su's campaign of highlighting "green" policies and agricultural development is rare in local elections, and isn't always effective.

"It worked in Yunlin this time but it didn't work in Ilan County," Chien said.

Yunlin has been ruled by the KMT for five decades, but the party's rule ended abruptly last December, when former county commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) was arrested on charges of corruption involving an incinerator construction project.

Yunlin has been plagued by a culture of "black gold" and vote-buying. In the past, local factions played a decisive role in many elections. Past election results have shown that the support of Chang's faction, dispersed since his arrest, could have played a key role in determining the election outcome. However, the 43-year-old Hsu failed to inspire the faction to unite behind the KMT campaign.

The four-term legislator focused on a proposal to speed up the development of the Yunlin offshore industrial park, advocating more investment, including money for a controversial steel mill project.
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