The results I’m going to be most interested in are Taipei and Keelung. I’ll be interested in seeing if 謝國樑 George Hsieh wins. Interestingly, the KMT campaigners in Keelung (at least where I live) are generally younger than the DPP campaigners. People working for the Hsieh campaign have been very nice to me, complimenting me on my Chinese and asking me about how my life has been in Taiwan.
The FET branch near where I live gives me campaign paraphernalia for Xu (forgot the rest of her name) the DPP candidate every time I go there.
Please remind me of exactly when the KMT did so. The last example I can see is with Lee Teng-hui, whom they reviled and booted out of their party.
After Lee, the KMT has kept nominating the sons of generals, the waisheng elite, or China nutcases like Hung or Han. There is not a technocrat among them. You personally may find this pattern irrelevant. But until I see it broken, I will call it for what it is: a clear pattern that bears no resemblance to your conditional fantasy of “technocratic” and “capable” candidates from the blue side. We’re still waiting . . . .
The lesson for me is when Hau Lung-bin (one of the “son of a general” candidates the KMT loves) was parachuted into a legislative race in Keelung. The electorate in Keelung said “no” showing that they could make up their minds about candidates like this.
I don’t have a strong opinion of the place—I’ve never lived there—but it does seem to me that their ability to switch parties after being forever blue is a plus. Its keeps these guys on their toes, compared to the places that never swtich (Miaoli for example, or Hualien).
I think the TPP is a breath of fresh air. Say what you will about Ko, but he’s a guy with a leader’s quality, unlike Wayne, the goody-two-shoes. Goodies-two-shoes make good aides and staffers but don’t make good leaders. If Wayne gets elected tomorrow, we’ll just get another MYJ, who will kowtow to all the “uncles” in the KMT. I think people are tired of the blue-green dichotomy. We may see a rise of white power tomorrow.
I would have agreed a few years back. I think Ko is smart and has vision, but the party depends too much on him, and I think his ego and autism will keep him from leading the party effectively long term or winning the presidency.
They have all manner of connections in Hsinchu County, that noted hotbed of intellectualism.
I agree however that whatever they are selling has few buyers in points south of Tao-Chu-Miao. With this limited market they are, at the national level, going nowhere.
