The key for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to win next year’s presidential and legislative elections is voter turnout, which would be helped by the democratic movement in Hong Kong, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Lin made the remarks in political commentator Clara Chou’s (周玉蔻) morning radio show when she asked him about the DPP’s electoral prospects.
Having a doctorate in political science from Yale University, Lin considers himself one of the nation’s leading analysts of public opinion polls.
Photo: Hung Su-chin, Taipei Times
“The Han Wave — the political frenzy generated by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) during his mayoral campaign — had motivated many who were concerned or frustrated about Taiwan’s democracy to come out and vote in the nine-in-one elections in November last year,” Lin said.
“Votes for the pan-blue camp rose by about 10 percent, as people who oppose President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and dislike the DPP joined forces,” he added. “The combination of referendums and political elections, as well as a lack of passion from pan-green voters, also played an important role.”
Young people tend to mobilize when a nation is in a crisis, as evidenced by Hong Kong’s movement against an extradition bill, Lin said.
Voter turnout is likely to be huge next year and many young people would come out to vote for Tsai, he added.
Asked if the DPP has regrouped after its defeats last year, Lin said that the party had largely stabilized, but still feels a sense of crisis when facing next year’s election.
Tsai’s momentum is rising, which in turn reduces Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) legitimacy if he decides to run for president, he added.
Asked if Tsai would choose Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) as her running mate, Lin said that he believes Tsai would have the best campaign strategy.
Asked to comment on a standoff between taxi companies and Uber, Lin said that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications hopes to keep Uber in Taiwan and plans to turn it into a legal business by Oct. 6, when an amendment to the Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則) is scheduled to take effect.
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