Chi Mei President Shi Wen-lung (許文龍) changed his low-key backing of DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (
Shi, an industrial leader, also known for his patronage of museums and regarded as one of Lee's "close friends" in business circles, met Chen in Tainan yesterday.
During a subsequent press conference, Shi singled Chen out as the most suitable successor to Lee.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The presidential candidate that has indicated a route closest to that of Lee's is Chen Shui-bian," he said.
Although not specifying what he meant by the KMT chairman's "line," Shi said that although Lee has made many contributions to Taiwan's democratization, not everyone in the KMT has recognized the fact.
"What has upset me lately is that although Lee has set up a great line during the past 12 years, some people have tried to deny that legacy. Some have even said Lee should step down from his seat as KMT chairman. This is to me very impolite to Lee," he said.
Shi said he was glad Lee Yuan-tseh (
"Of course, I hope Chen wins the election," he said.
Chen announced late last week that Shi had promised to join his National Policy Advisory Committee if he is elected. But not until yesterday did Shi openly endorse Chen's candidacy.
Meanwhile, when asked to define "Lee Teng-hui's line," Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), the DPP's 1996 presidential candidate and a renowned advocate of Taiwan independence, said Lee's legacy was to enhance Taiwan's local awareness, and to uphold Taiwan's status as a sovereign state.
Chu Li-lun (
Chu said Shi is a firm supporter of Taiwan independence, so "the correct interpretation" was that Chen is also a firm supporter of Taiwan independence.
Although admitting Hsu's announcement could influence the outcome of the election, political analysts said it is still difficult to evaluate the impact of a single event such as this.
"Surely it will influence the flow of votes, but it's difficult to assess the scale of influence as it's unlikely that surveys evaluating the effects of such an event will be conducted during this period of time," said Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), a political analyst at National Chengchi University.
Election-related polls are ban-ned by law during the final 10 days of a campaign.
Fu Hung-der (
Fu said a lack of objective statistical work on the possible significance of the event would leave his own assessment unsubstantiated.
But he did indicate that there would be some limits to the impact of Chu's endorsement.
"The impact could be minimal because a lot of people may not even know who Shi Wen-lung is. As for the so-called `Lee Tung-hui line,' not many people have a single clue to what it is about," Fu said.
Fu also said it was likely that Hsu's move would only influence undecided voters, while studies have shown that a majority of them might not vote at all.
But, Wu said, in the eyes of voters who had decided to vote for Lien, Hsu's move might serve as a "hint" delivering two messages: "They might feel that either Lee himself has shifted his support from Lien to Chen or that Lee's original supporters have dropped their support for Lien," he said.
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