While Taipei is normally an election stronghold for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the party’s mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) has surprisingly been lagging behind throughout the campaign, and the reason for the suffering may be his campaign team.
One of Lien’s most criticized aspects is his family connections — his great-grandfather Lien Heng (連橫) was a controversial figure who supported the Japanese colonial government’s policy legalizing opium, arguing that it is healthy to smoke the drug, while both his grandfather Lien Chen-tung (連震東) and father, former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), served in top positions in the KMT regime during the Martial Law period, and were involved in controversial incidents.
Sean Lien is therefore often labeled as “a member of the privileged class” who would not understand the problems and needs of ordinary people, especially also because he had served in top management positions at several multinational corporations immediately after receiving his law degree from Columbia University’s Law School.
While repeatedly denying that he is from the privileged class, and insisting that he knows the needs and challenges facing ordinary people, Sean Lien’s campaign team arranged a series of “work stay” programs, with Sean Lien doing different jobs — such as street vendor, scooter mechanic and car washer — for a day.
He seems to be proud of what he has been doing and has bragged about “experiencing the life of the ordinary,” and has challenged his main rival, independent mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), to do the same.
Although Ko is a much-respected surgeon, he is from an ordinary family and has worked hard to accomplish what he has achieved both professionally and financially.
If Sean Lien already knows the life of ordinary people, why would he need to have these “work stay” programs to “experience the life of the ordinary”? Obviously these programs only further strengthen his image as someone “different from ordinary people.”
Sean Lien triggered more ridicule over the weekend when he compared himself to Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, by saying in his latest campaign ad that Siddhartha Gautama was also a prince, but chose to become a monk and later became a Buddha with the intention to save people.
Many were quick to criticize the ad, saying that he not only is not as enlightened as the Buddha, but also is not as determined as the Buddha, who gave up everything he had and lived simply and on minimal sustenance in search of the ultimate enlightenment.
Sean Lien does not need to be concerned about criticism of his family background, as such criticism is usual in election campaigns and he is not the only politician who has a “privileged” background. Instead of fighting a battle started by his critics, he should be fighting his own battles and highlight his positive characteristics. Many of his comrades say that he has abundant positive characteristics, but so far we have seen none.
However, Sean Lien and his team have consistently failed to respond appropriately to issues and criticism when he could have easily done so.
This may make the voters wonder whether, if Sean Lien is elected mayor, he and his team would be able to deal properly with unexpected challenges, when they cannot even deal properly with very simple challenges during a campaign.
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