The results of Saturday's mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung offer lessons for parties preparing for the 2004 presidential race, foreign observers said.
Analysts said the results should serve as a wake-up call for the pan-blue camp.
"The election result ... is once again an example for the KMT and PFP. If they are divided, they will not win the election; but if they can better coordinate with each other, the chances for winning the election will be higher," said Li Pang-kwong (
Although KMT challenger Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英) lost his fight for Kaohsiung to Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) by more than 24,000 votes, belated but strong support from the PFP was critical to Huang's improved performance as the race progressed, Li said.
"Coordination within the blue camp should be strengthened," Li said.
Stanley Rosen, a political scientist from the University of Southern California, also stressed the need for cooperation.
"The only way for the pan-blue camp to stand a strong chance to win the 2004 race is for different factions within the PFP and KMT to manage to work something out," Rosen said.
The foreign observers, however, held mixed views on whether the landslide victory of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would entice him to run in the 2004 presidential race.
"I think that's a real victory for him. ... This makes Ma look quite good," Rosen said.
Ma got 873,102 votes, around 64 percent of the total, while his DPP challenger Lee Ying-yuan (
Rosen said that the result could see Ma emerge as a strong contender in the 2004 presidential election.
Li said that although it's logical for Ma's supporters to push the popular mayor to run in the presidential race -- Ma is seen by many as the only way to compete with President Chen Shui-bian (
"The time is not right. Ma will be challenged by the DPP for not living up to his promise to serve as Taipei mayor for the whole term. And this will not be good for his image," Li said.
Recalling their first visit to observe elections in Taiwan in the early 1990s, when the nation was beginning to democratize, academics said the country's democracy has matured.
Rosen said the Legislative Yuan election in 1991 was much more polarized and rough compared with what he observed during the latest election in Taiwan, a view echoed by Li.
"I think the people here in Taiwan are quite reasonable, sensible and mature after 10 years of development," Li said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS