Growing up in a rural village in Pingtung County, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Greater Taichung mayoral candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) has opposed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KTM) since a young age, largely because members of his family suffered political persecution under the then-KMT government’s authoritarian rule.
In 1986, Su took part in the establishment of the opposition party — the DPP — and has since become an active politician in Pingtung County.
Su was elected as a legislator twice in Pingtung County. In 1997 he won the Pingtung County commissioner election, and was re-elected in 2001.
GRAPHIC: TT
Wei Pin (魏斌), a veteran journalist who covered Su during the years he served as Pingtung County commissioner, said Su had succeeded in promoting the county by creating the Donggang Yellowfin Tuna Festival and the Hengchun Windbells Festival during his terms.
These annual festivals successfully promoted tourism to the county and allowed the rest of the nation to better understand it, Wei said.
Su’s wife, Hung Heng-chu (洪恆珠), is a former police officer and came from a pro-KMT family. He has previously said that Hung didn’t know about his anti-KMT stance when they started dating.
Su said that Hung only gradually came to see eye to eye with him about the KMT after an incident in the 1980s when she was approached by an individual seeking to buy votes for the KMT.
Su was not affiliated with any factions within the DPP and was perceived by many as having maintained good relations with all them.
After the DPP lost power in 2008, Su was assigned a tough job last year: leading a task force on the party’s nominations for last years’ three-in-one elections and then serving as the party’s secretary-general.
“Su agreed at the last minute to the party’s request to run in the Taichung mayoral race, suggesting that he is not afraid of taking up challenges,” said Wang Yeh-li (王業立), a political science professor at National Taiwan University.
Despite his extensive public experience, Su has no prior experience in Taichung and is engaged in a tough campaign.
As a former Council of Agriculture minister, Su began his campaign in Taichung’s mountainous areas, Lishan (梨山) and Tungshih Township (東勢), appealing to voters whose focus is on farming.
Besides farming experience, Su has also campaigned on his -security achievements as he accused his KMT opponent, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), of failing to satisfactorily address a notorious public order situation in Taichung.
In the 1990s, Pingtung County was known as the “home of gangsters.” Su said that after he became commissioner, his efforts to combat gangsters paid off and the county’s public order improved, and that the name “home of gangsters” no long applies to Pingtung County.
Wang said that the fact Su is a new face in Taichung might actually attract more support from voters than some had expected.
“Su was willing to go on the frontline when the party needed him,” Wang said. “Whether or not Su wins the Taichung mayoral election, he will establish himself as a heavyweight in the party.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
Our series of profiles of the candidates in the Nov. 27 special municipality elections continues tomorrow with the KMT mayoral candidate for Greater Taichung, Jason Hu (胡志強).
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