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PFP Keelung candidate unfazed by opinion polls

People First Party (PFP) Keelung mayoral candidate Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) has not withdrawn from the election despite polls released yesterday showing him trailing the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) candidate.

The two parties had agreed to rely on public opinion polls to help select a single candidate that would represent the pan-blue camp in the race for the mayoral post, which was left vacant by the death of Keelung mayor Hsu Tsai-li (許財利).

Hsu passed away last month at the age of 60 from complications caused by chronic heart disease and diabetes.

The by-election is scheduled for May 12.

CREDIBILITY

Liu yesterday said he doubted the credibility of the KMT's survey, saying he could not believe that Keelung residents would support City Council Speaker Chang Tong-rong (張通榮), who has been convicted of vote-buying.

The KMT yesterday afternoon released two opinion polls, one commissioned by each party, reporting that Chang was the more popular of the two candidates.

However, the PFP accused the KMT of violating an agreement reached yesterday morning not to release the results of the polls until the two parties had decided whether or not to carry out new surveys because of the PFP's concerns over the neutrality of the polls.

FULL SUPPORT

PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that regardless of the opinion polls, the PFP would give its full support to Liu.

"How strange of the KMT. It agreed not to release the survey results, so why did it suddenly change its mind? It is clear that the KMT was just playing around when it negotiated the agreement with the PFP," he said.

The KMT's news release showed that both opinion surveys -- one commissioned by the PFP from the Eastern Media Group Survey Center, and another commissioned by the KMT from the Taiwan Real Survey Co -- indicated Chang as the favorite.

The KMT said it would officially nominate Chang as its candidate today.
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