KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan
The down-home style campaigning was in stark contrast to past practices. Until very recently, when the vice president visited local supporters, it was in a spot-to-spot style. His entourage of vehicles would arrive at the place where supporters had gathered to wait for him, Lien would make a speech, and then leave for the next location.
Not so yesterday.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, LIBERTY TIMES
In the morning, Lien's motorcade traveled around Sanchung City (
The city has traditionally been a bastion of support for the DPP at election time.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of supporters assembled at street corners to welcome Lien, waving flags and setting off firecrackers as he drove by.
According to one local campaign staffer for Lien, the local supporters' association mobilized some 20,000 people through neighborhood units and civil organizations to join the activity.
"We mapped out 200 sites around the city, with at least 100 people at each site, to ensure campaign morale, and this proved successful," said the staffer.
Immediately after the two-hour parade, Lien excitedly told attendees at a luncheon in Sanchung held by the "hometown associa-tion" of Yunlin County (
He called on people from Yunlin County, who make up a large community in Taipei County, to use their influence both in Taipei County and their hometowns to help him win.
"I want the people of Yunlin to help get more votes from your friends, your relatives. You can make phone calls to as many people as possible," Lien told his audience.
Local KMT politicians said they anticipated the party would garner more than 40 percent of the vote in Sanchung.
Lien's campaign tour later visited the north coast townships of Wanli (
Taipei County has a population of more than 3.5 million, and an estimated electorate of some 2.4 million. The huge population, along with complex factions and a large number of migrants from elsewhere in Taiwan make the county a hotly-contested battlefield in almost every election.
This election, say many observers, will see the three leaders, Lien, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and James Soong (宋楚瑜), struggling to secure Taipei residents' votes without one of them enjoying an obvious lead.
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