On a Sunday afternoon while campaigning at a veterans community in Songshan District (松山), Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) told a group of supporters: “I may be clumsy with words, but I am a man of action and I always deliver on my promises.”
The remarks adequately describe the impression some Taipei residents have of Hau — reticent, awkward and distant.
The 58-year-old mayor did not see the traits as a problem before.
Instead, he has often said in defense: “My work speaks for itself and people in Taipei will eventually understand what I have achieved.”
The neck-and-neck battle with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), however, has forced Hau to make some changes.
Recently, while attending municipal activities, he learned to stay and chat with the crowd, rather than leaving immediately after addressing the events.
He sounded more confident and eloquent when defending his municipal achievements, and intensive campaign activities also taught him to interact with the public more naturally.
“He is more smooth now and not afraid of expressing his true feelings. It really helps bring him and local residents closer and the reactions he has received from them are far more passionate,” said Hau’s campaign spokesman, Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基).
Growing up in a military family, Hau was raised as a serious and disciplined man under the influence of his well-known father, former premier and chief of staff Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村).
Being the oldest son of a KMT heavyweight, Hau Lung-bin had tried not to follow in his father’s footsteps by working as a professor at National Taiwan University after finishing his studies at the University of Massachusetts.
Four years after his father resigned as premier because of a power struggle within the KMT, Hau Lung-bin decided to enter politics and was elected as a New Party legislator in 1996.
“I did not want to be a politician, but the misunderstandings against my father, who spent his whole life fighting for the country, made me realize that I had a responsibility to society and that I should take over my father’s work and serve the country,” he said.
In 2001, he made a surprising move by accepting the then-DPP government’s invitation to take over as the chief of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), becoming the only non-DPP official in the Cabinet.
His insistence on carrying out policies restricting the use of plastic bags and his resignation in protest of a referendum to open the Taipei-Yilan highway between Pinglin (坪林) and Shihding (石碇) demonstrated to the public his determination to maintain his ideals and made him one of the most popular Cabinet members under former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.
However, because he worked in the DPP administration and decided to leave the New Party to run in the 2006 Taipei mayoral election under the KMT banner, Hau Lung-bin met with harsh criticism from within the pan-blue camp, with many describing him as a “political chameleon” for his perceived lack of loyalty.
Although winning the previous mayoral election with a decisive margin, the mayor is not considered a politician with personal charisma, unlike his more popular predecessors — Chen and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who both used the Taipei mayoralty as a stepping stone toward the presidency.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) describes Hau Lung-bin as a nice person and a politician with integrity. As an administrator, however, he has failed to make himself more accessible to residents.
His over-reliance on his inner circle and overestimating of his own abilities, she said, has turned municipal administration problems into major political crises, thereby weighing down his administrative achievements.
In the last four years, Hau Lung-bin has helped raise the capital’s international profile by holding the Deaflympics last year and completed major municipal projects including the Maokong Gondola and two MRT lines.
Construction problems with the gondola and frequent breakdowns on the Wenshan-Neihu MRT Line, however, have tarnished the public’s perception of his leadership.
His administration’s poor crisis management over the two municipal projects, which were initiated during Ma’s mayoral terms, sparked speculation about a rift in the two men’s relationship.
The corruption scandal related to the Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project and the high cost of the Taipei International Flora Expo have added woes to the mayor’s problematic record, sending his support even further down, making Saturday’s election result an unpredictable one.
Amid criticism of his so-called “gang of four” advisers on municipal administration issues, the mayor let go three team members, led by former Taipei deputy mayor Lee Yong-ping (李永萍), in September and replaced them with people of varying background.
As the election approaches, he is letting his guard down more and is enhancing communication with grassroots groups and boroughs. He is also attending more local activities to improve his relations with the Taipei City Council.
“Mayor Hau is more like a college professor than a politician. He is still bad at stirring up the crowd at campaign events, but unlike many politicians, he is as good as his word,” said Wang Yun-ching (王韻菁), a staff member of the mayor’s campaign team who assisted the campaign in Hau Lung-bin’s campaign first mayoral election.
Apart from his public image as a reserved politician, Wang said Hau Lung-bin is a warm person in private who still meets regularly for dinner with former staff and aides from the EPA.
Hau Lung-bin is also known for his close relations with his family. His wife, Kao Lung-sen (高閬仙), said Hau Lung-bin was a “big puppet” for their three kids at home and even though he is busy, he always takes the time to chat with them and check their homework.
While trying hard to expose more of his soft side in the final leg of the election campaign, Hau Lung-bin still maintains his persistence at work.
“He still refuses to wear costumes for campaign activities. Dressing up as a pilot for the KMT’s rally on Sunday was the best he could do,” Fang Chiang said.
Hau Lung-bin said he believed politicians should only show their true colors to the public and that rather than appearance and campaign tricks, what voters are looking for is a candidate who acts on his or her words and delivers on most of his or her campaign promises.
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