Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral hopeful Yeh Chin-chuan's (
A written reprimand in response to a controversial campaign ad targeting another mayoral hopeful, former Environmental Protection Administration chief Hau Lung-bin (
The KMT already has a nomination and primary mechanism for the selection of party candidates, but the mechanism has long been ignored, since top officials often just appoint their preferred candidates.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The year-end elections provide an excellent opportunity for Ma to set up a new system. What Ma should do is not get involved and allow the primaries to decide the final candidate," said Emile Sheng (盛治仁), a professor of political science at Soochow University.
But Ma's pro-reform statements seem to be in conflict with his actions. The media has regarded Yeh as Ma's "chosen successor," and his entry to the mayoral race was seen as a move to continue the policies of the Ma administration, secure the city's resources and even attract more swing votes with his ethnic background as a native Taiwanese should Ma become the KMT candidate in the 2008 presidential election, even though Yeh once called himself "a person who does not play politics."
Ma tried to maintain a neutral stance, saying that "the KMT has a primary system, but no preferred candidate," and has declined to attend any campaign events for Yeh or other party hopefuls.
As the May 27 primary draws near, however, Ma's staff at the city government and members of his family have come forward to endorse Yeh.
Besides having city government officials, including Taipei Deputy Mayor King Pu-tsung (
On Sunday, Ma made a donation of NT$8,888 to Yeh's campaign fund, sparking criticism from party members.
These moves have prompted KMT legislators Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) to withdraw from the primary, accusing the city government of "taking sides." Two other hopefuls, Hau and KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chong (丁守中), while remaining in the primary, said that they "identified with" what Tsai and Chiang felt.
Meanwhile, Hsu Chia-chin (
"After going from five hopefuls to two, the party can now choose its candidate without holding a primary. This is clearly the result of political tactics," she said.
According to Chinese-language media, Ma was unhappy about the criticism against Yeh and demanded that the party dissuade Yeh from vying for the mayoral nomination. Ma has denied the allegations, saying he would respect any decision Yeh made.
Chen Chin-chiang (
Although KMT councilors who have supported Yeh's campaign expressed surprise over his sudden withdrawal, Chen said that the incident did not guarantee that Hau would win the primary.
"Yeh's supporters may not necessarily turn to Hau. Instead, they may support Ting or even People First Party [PFP] Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜)," he said.
Chen, who campaigned for Yeh for six months, said that older grassroots supporters did not support Hau because of his previous experience in working for the DPP government, and therefore may instead vote for either Ting or Soong, if he decided to run.
Although Soong's ambition to join the Taipei mayoral race is well known, Sheng said that the PFP chairman's odds of winning would be slim, even after Yeh's withdrawal.
"Even if he decided to run, pan-blue voters may think of him as a veteran who is refusing to give the next generation a chance, which could cost him the race," Sheng said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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