President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday gathered top government and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials to discuss campaign strategies for November’s special municipality elections following disappointing results for candidates in recent polls.
Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, held a closed-door meeting with Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Presidential Office Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), KMT Vice Chairman Chan Chun-po (詹春柏), KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and the director of the KMT’s Organization and Development Committee Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) at his residence, demanding more campaigning efforts to increase support for party candidates.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoted an unpublished poll conducted by the KMT that former vice premier Eric Chu (朱立倫), who is running as the party’s candidate in Sinbei City, had a support rate of only 5 percent more than his opponent, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The same poll also showed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) lagging behind his opponent, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of the DPP. The poll also showed that the approval rating of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) had declined because of alleged ties between city police officers and local gangsters.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that while KMT candidates in DPP strongholds Kaohsiung and Tainan were closing in on DPP candidates, the KMT’s leads in traditional pan-blue strongholds Taipei, Sinbei and Taichung were shrinking at the same time.
“A big push is required in some election districts,” he said, adding that it was an issue of concern for Ma.
Later yesterday when responding to press inquiries, King shrugged off concerns about the declining support for party candidates, and said the KMT remained confident about the party’s performance in the Nov. 27 five special municipality elections.
King said a variety of issues, including the government’s planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, were covered in the meeting. As for election strategies, King said the KMT would make party unity its current priority.
“In southern Taiwan, the pan-blue camp’s power base at the grassroots level is larger than the pan-green camp, so our party candidates in Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung still have a chance to win. Therefore, it is our priority to push for party unity,” he said.
Chu yesterday said he would follow the original campaign strategy in canvassing in Sinbei and vie for support regardless of the polls.
“We have a long way to go before the election, which is still five months away. The race has just begun and poll results will only serve as a reference,” he said.
Hau, who will formally launch his campaign headquarters this morning, said polling figures will not affect his campaign strategies either.
At a separate setting yesterday when asked for comment on the China Times report, Tsai said “the poll results are for reference only as it is all too early to tell yet.”
She said she had no further comment except to say that the DPP candidates will all do their best for the November elections.
National Chengchi University’s Center for Prediction Markets forecast on June 8 that the DPP would win in Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung, while the KMT would take Greater Taichung in the elections. However, the two parties are running neck and neck in Taipei and Sinbei cities, the center said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN, CNA AND STAFF WRITER
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