December 5th 1998 marked an im-portant step in the democratization of Taiwan, with the second election for the mayors and city councils in Taipei and Kaohsiung and the fourth election for the Legislative Yuan. The mayoral elections in both Taipei and Kaohsiung saw incumbents lose, though there were fewer changes in the respective city councils, with none of the three political parties achieving an overall majority. In the election for the Legislative Yuan, the Kuomintang (KMT) regained an outright majority.

The election for mayor of Taipei, which many characterized as a warm-up for the presidential election in 2000 AD, attracted considerable media attention. Initial polls recorded approval ratings as high as 70% for the incumbent, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which inevitably led to expectations that he would breeze through the election into a second term of office. However, the election heated up at the end of May when Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT announced his intention to run. The New Party (NP) candidate, Wang Chien-shien, presented an image of uprightness and probity, but the similarity of styles, ideas and even supporters with Ma Ying-jeou attracted much speculation as to who NP supporters would ultimately vote for.

Throughout the competition between Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-jeou, there were constant calls for Wang supporters to "respectfully" support Ma. Even Hau Pei-tsun, the NP's spiritual leader, was reported as calling on NP supporters to vote for Ma Ying-jeou. Many election analysts argue that the role played by KMT chairman, Lee Teng-hui, introducing the concepts of "New Taiwanese" and "moderate reform" into the political debate, also helped to attract the support of middle-of-the-road voters. On top of that, the long-respected presidential advisor Sun Yun-hsuen spoke publicly on behalf of Ma Ying-jeou, which also served to win over the "silent majority" and wavering voters. The combination of these factors resulted in a resounding victory for Ma Ying-jeou, who secured more than half the votes cast to become mayor of Taipei.

Many people had not expected Chen Shui-bian to lose. Indeed, there was much support for Mayor Chen, and respect for his municipal government team. As such, his share of the vote was actually 1.33% higher than at the time of the last election. However, Chen Shui-bian's iron fist in dealing with illegal video game arcades, the razing of illegal structures and actions against the sex industry and licensed prostitutes, as well as his constant disputes with the city council, led to growing opposition from interested parties and groups representing the disadvantaged. This in turn meant that many voters had reservations about the rough-and-tumble style of their first elected mayor. These factors, together with the convergence of the KMT and NP vote, were ultimately what unseated Chen Shui-bian, despite his winning 45.9% of the vote.

The highly charged emotions did not abate with the end of the election. After Chen Shui-bian's defeat was confirmed, many inconsolable supporters gathered outside his election headquarters to wish him well, and have since attended a number of moving post-election rallies which have been held across the island to thank people for their support. At the same time, Chen Shui-bian has received much encouragement and support to stand for president at the next election due in the year 2000. Faced with the concerned voices of his supporters, Chen has said that the very fact that many regarded the recent poll as a preamble to the presidential election did not help his campaign. Nevertheless he thanked everyone for their support and is now resting, carefully considering the next step in his political career.

In southern Taiwan, although the election for mayor of Kaohsiung also included an independent candidate, Cheng Te-yao, and an NP candidate, Wu Chien-kuo, the real battle remained that between the DPP's Frank Hsieh and the KMT's Wu Den-yih.

From the very beginning of the campaign it was thought that Hsieh had little chance of winning, having been involved in the Sung Chi-li cult scandal and facing an incumbent with eight years of experience as mayor. At first, there was much less coverage of the Kaohsiung mayoral race. The election, however, began to turn nasty. In the middle of November, Kaohsiung DDP city council candidate, Chen Chun-sheng, produced a tape that purported to be a recording of an intimate telephone conversation between Wu Den-yih and a female reporter. This was followed just days before the election by a video tape recorded by the TV celebrity Pai Ping-ping, which attacked Frank Hsieh and accused him of moral turpitude in assisting Chen Chin-hsing, the man who kidnapped and murdered her daughter Pai Hsiao-yen. On election day, as everyone watched the votes come in, the lead changed back and forth. In the end Frank Hsieh won by a tiny margin of just over 4,000 votes.

Political observer and National Sun Yat-sen University professor Chen Mau-hsiung has argued that Wu Den-yih originally held the upper hand in the election, but lost women's votes as a result of the tape-recording affair. In contrast, the later video merely compounded the dissatisfaction of the electorate, contributing to the DPP gaining control in southern Taiwan.

The election for the Legislative Yuan was somewhat obscured by the elections for the two municipalities. As a result of the downsizing of the provincial government, a total of 57 provincial assembly members ran for seats in the legislature. Of these, 46 were elected. Professor Hsieh Fu-sheng of the department of politics at National Chengchi University has expressed concern that the parochial background and interests of legislators may well cause a deterioration in the quality of official business conducted by the new Legislative Yuan.

Another major change was that the KMT actually secured 123 of the 225 seats available, an absolute majority, from 46.43% of the vote. This result effectively returned the Legislative Yuan to the control of a single party. The DPP won only 70 seats, its share of the vote falling from 33% to 29.56%. DPP secretary general Chiu Yih-jen indicated that in this situation the DPP will have little power to oppose KMT legislation.

At a press conference held after the election, DPP chairman Lin Yi-hsiung was frank about the setback the party had suffered, and indicated he would resign his position. This presented the DPP with a crisis: the prospect of having to elect a new chairman and the possibility of internal division. Fortunately, Lin finally resolved to remain in his post at the behest of party members at all levels. Chen Shui-bian was particularly persuasive. Lin indicated that the DPP will seek to consolidate its hold on southern Taiwan and use its election setback as a chance to grow and develop. Many critics have attributed the DPP's dramatic failure to the strength of ethnic affiliations and the party's support for Taiwanese independence in its charter. It has been suggested that the DPP must have the courage to address this problem and move forwards.

Moreover, Lee Teng-hui came out at a crucial point during the election, promoting the "New Taiwanese" concept, an idea which appears to have been well received by people of all ethnic groups, and has since attracted much international media attention. Soochow University Department of Political Science associate professor Kuo Cheng-liang, a former director of the DPP's Department of Information, argues that this concept was so widely accepted because of its ability to go beyond the old idea of "locals" and "mainlanders" to include all ethnic groups. It is markedly different from the group-based nationalism espoused by the DPP. As such it represents a form of citizen's democracy, a formula that can be accepted by everybody. However, Chiu Yih-jen, who recently stepped down as DPP secretary general, is less sure, arguing that the concept is still in the developmental stage and that it remains to be seen whether it will improve ethnic relations.

As for the NP, it won only 11 seats in the Legislative Yuan and 7% of the popular vote. The party's candidate in the election for Taipei mayor, Wang Chien-shien, polled only 2.97% of the vote. Other senior party members such as Yu Mu-ming and Chen Kuei-miao also failed in their campaigns for seats in the Legislative Yuan. As a result, it has been suggested that the NP is a "bubble" party that has popped and has no future. NP campaign manager Jaw Shau-kong publicly apologized for the party's poor showing. On the other hand, Wang Chien-shien has since argued that having lost so badly, there are many things for the NP to think long and hard about, but that as long as the party does reflect with genuine sincerity, there is still a role for it in Taiwan's politics.

Looking back at the election, the political parties reflect on their results, whilst the public remember the disruption and mess caused by the sea of election flags that bedecked their cities and the election vans with their noisy, endless broadcasts of election propaganda. But the election revealed some serious problems. The flouting of electoral laws by candidates is an issue that needs to be addressed. There were also numerous suspected incidents of vote buying and almost a thousand election-related cases that the Ministry of Justice and local prosecutor's offices are currently dealing with.

On the international stage, academics and journalists in Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China organized delegations to visit and observe the election. James Lilley, former director of the American Institute in Taiwan noted of the election that the Washington Post ran one photograph of Ma Ying-jeou celebrating his victory and one of dissidents being arrested in mainland China, emphasizing the political chasm between Taiwan and mainland China. Moreover, many international media outlets such as the Washington Post or the Daily Yomiuri have themselves commented that the resounding KMT victory is an indication that the people of Taiwan still do not support the DPP's policy of Taiwan independence and are more inclined to maintain the status quo.

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Ma Ying-jeou receives the official Taipei City Government seal from outgoing mayor Chen Shui-bian. He will soon be facing the multitude of challenges that go with running a big city like Taipei.