A media organization recently published the results of an opinion poll regarding the candidates who are to run for Yilan County commissioner in the local elections on Nov. 26, with only 2 percent of respondents saying that they would vote for the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) candidate. Even among respondents who identified with the TPP, only 2 percent said that they would cast their ballot for the party’s candidate.
In comparison, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who is seeking re-election, garnered the support of 71 percent of respondents who identified with the TPP.
A similar picture emerged for the Taoyuan mayoral race. A separate media poll published at the end of last month showed that only 27 percent of respondents identifying with the TPP said they would vote for the TPP’s candidate, while former premier Simon Chang (張善政), the KMT’s candidate, had the support of 49 percent of those who identified with the TPP.
These results show a number of trends:
First, apart from the TPP’s chairman, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), no TPP candidates have the support of the majority of respondents who identify with the party.
Second, Ko’s cynicism toward President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government and her Democratic Progressive Party — not to mention his mockery of both — plus the relative similarity between Ko’s cross-strait policies and those of the KMT have pushed people who identify with the TPP toward strongly rejecting the DPP and other pan-green parties, so that few of them lean toward the green end of the political spectrum.
Third, the TPP only recently came into existence. As such, it has few core values, nor are its members bound by revolutionary sentiments. People who identify with the TPP seem to be extremely pragmatic when it comes to elections — they would rather vote for KMT candidates who have a strong chance of winning than for their own party.
It looks as though TPP candidates in the mayoral and county commissioner elections will not only fail to act as “mother hens” who can consolidate votes for their party, but they will be sidelined by strategic voting among TPP supporters. Such an outcome would reinforce the TPP’s image as a one-person party focused on Ko himself, which could be the start of its downward spiral.
Huang Wei-ping is a former think tank researcher.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS