Donations and popularity
Former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), the Democratic Progressive Party candidate for Taipei mayor, has raised more than NT$98.7 million (US$3.1 million) in political donations, twice that of the campaign war chest raised by independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), a former Taipei deputy mayor.
The amount of contributions, according to some academics, reflects a candidate’s appeal.
Huang said the amount of political donations a candidate attracts is unimportant, and that as an independent candidate without the backing of a political party, it was only natural that she would be at a disadvantage.
She said that she had received many smaller donations, and her campaign merchandise was selling well — and that these represent votes in the bank.
She also raised questions about those who spend big on their campaigns, saying they would owe favors should they get elected. Following this logic, Huang might want to reflect on how her comments affect her former boss, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
A Control Yuan report on political contributions during the 2014 Taipei mayoral race showed that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) received more than NT$110 million in donations, compared with Ko’s more than NT$139.82 million, including NT$115 million from individuals, the rest being from anonymous sources and for-profit organizations.
Ko spent NT$142.36 million, overshooting his war chest by more than NT$2.5 million. In all, Ko received far more than Chen has this time around.
Political contributions are a measure of a candidate’s appeal, and Ko at the time was clearly very appealing.
How many favors did he have to repay? I guess we will never know.
Chang Hui-ho
Taipei
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