KMT candidate Lien Chan yesterday concentrated his efforts courting support from "waishengren" (mainlanders,
Attending a gathering of mem-bers from various "hometown associations" (同鄉會) from Chinese provinces yesterday, Lien emphasized aspects of his background that related to China.
"Although I am a member of the ninth generation of my family in Taiwan, I was born in Xian, Shaanxi province. And due to the war, I changed primary schools four times -- from Xian, to Chongqing, and to Taiwan -- during my childhood," Lien said.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"My own and my family's life experiences have involved most of the Chinese provinces. I believe this kind of life experience is unique among all the candidates in the election," he said.
Yesterday's luncheon was attended by over 1,500 members of 28 hometown associations in China. Most of people present, being first-generation mainlanders, were elderly.
Much of the discussion of the voting intentions of "waishengren" has so far focused on the community of military veterans and families. This community has long been considered loyal to the KMT. But in this election, it has become obvious to most observers that the majority of mainlanders support Soong for president.
On the same day as the luncheon yesterday, the KMT's Huang Fuhsing (黃復興) branch, a special branch of the KMT whose members consist of military veterans and their families, published a newspaper advertisement appealing to its members, calling on them to choose KMT candidates for the sake of national security and stability.
During his speech yesterday, Lien also stressed that the KMT is a party which has undertaken many "historical missions" not only by creating the ROC, but also by ensuring its continued existence and prosperity -- an apparent attempt to attract his audience's approval on an emotional level.
One analyst, however, was not optimistic about such efforts.
"In my view, the proportion of `waishengren' votes the KMT can get is around 40 percent at most, while the rest will go to Soong," said Wu Tung-yeh (
Although the KMT has claimed it can collect more than 50 percent of the vote among military veterans and their families, comments like Wu's are commonly seen in the local media.
"Most mainlanders are anti-Lee Teng-hui (
During recent visits by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) -- a popular mainlander KMT political figure -- to military communities on Sundays, some community members told Ma that the precondition for them to vote for Lien was that Lee abdicates from the KMT chairmanship before the election.
"This kind of sentiment is unlikely to change much before March 18," Wu said.
As for the so-called "dump-save" effect (
Chen is regarded by many as advocating Taiwan Independence.
It is widely believed, however, that there is no clear signs yet that such a phenomenon will occur.
Many discussions on the issue in the local media have said that among the three hopefuls, there is still no one particularly strong or weak candidate that the electorate would be driven to dump their most favored candidate and to choose their second-favored one.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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