The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has unveiled a poster it has created to promote its mayoral candidates running in the Nov. 27 special municipality elections.
The poster, bearing the slogan “YOU decide the future of Taiwan,” shows the five DPP candidates wearing black suits and standing tall with arms folded in front of them, to convey their determination to win the elections.
DPP spokesman Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) explained that the party was trying to use the poster to highlight its desire to “create new glory and happiness in five new cities.”
The DPP believed that the greatest expectations of the public were to be able to live in a place that is always prosperous and constantly progressing, offers better jobs and provides a good environment for raising children, Lin said.
In the election campaign, the party has “underlined rationality, not moving to seek passionate supporters or playing the sympathy card,” he added.
Meanwhile, sources said the DPP has begun a survey to weigh the impact on public opinion of the verdict concerning the latest corruption sentence for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) out of concern that it might drive away swing voters and young voters alike as the elections draw near.
The Supreme Court handed down its ruling on Thursday of a total of 19 years in jail plus fines of NT$150 million (US$4.87 million) each for Chen and his wife on charges of taking bribes from businessmen, casting an even darker shadow over the DPP’s chances in the elections following controversy resulting from a talk show host who recently used coarse language to denounce President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policy at a rally sponsored by the Taiwan Rescue Action Alliance.
Although the DPP has claimed the verdict would not affect its election performance to any great extent, the party’s move to carry out the survey to gauge the potential threat indicates that the Chen case could influence some voters, the sources said.
According to some analysts, the outcome of the elections could serve as a major indicator of any power shift before the 2012 presidential race.
However, some DPP members are optimistic that the latest court action against Chen could actually help the party cement unity and gather support.
Most swing voters are indifferent to politics and are more concerned about their own interests, these party members said. Against such a backdrop, the DPP has set “ruling capabilities” as its campaign theme in the upcoming elections as a means of avoiding partisan confrontation and seeking the support of middle-of-the-road voters.
Judging from the results of several public opinion polls conducted by the DPP, the party over the past two years has built a better image among the public, making it more likely that it can bring swing voters to its side, according to the DPP.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
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