Taking the south
For the DPP, whose overall image has been greatly tarnished recently by such things as recurrent allegations of corruption at the highest political levels, the "Red Shirt Army" led by former DPP heavyweight Shih Ming-teh which protested in front of the Presidential Palace, and calls by former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tze for President Chen to consider resigning, these municipal elections were the severest test of the party since its founding. In the end, Chen Chu, who started slow but finished fast, held down the party's southern bastion, while Frank Hsieh--with an impressive resume of six years as mayor of Kaohsiung and one year as premier--lifted the DPP vote in Taipei to 520,000 ballots (41%), an increase of more than 100,000 over the last Taipei mayoral election, which can only be considered a strong showing.
Many people believe that a decisive element in the Kaohsiung election was that Lin Yi-hsiung, the revered former chairman of the DPP, came out strongly on behalf of Chen Chu in the last three days before the poll; this is said to have persuaded a number of uncommitted voters that they should not hand the government--which more strongly emphasizes "Taiwanese" identity in contrast to the KMT's more "Chinese" identity--another setback, but should give the DPP a chance to redeem itself. Analysts on the ground in Kaohsiung emphasize that the people of Kaohsiung should be given more credit for their ability and willingness to rationally distinguish candidates based on individual credentials and practical policies, rather than blindly voting along party or ethnic lines. Polls show that 60% of Kaohsiung residents are satisfied with the city's development (new infrastructure, improvement in water quality, etc.) through the "New Maritime Metropolis" program of the last eight years, during which the city has been run by the DPP, and this could have been the major factor in their willingness to vote for Chen Chu.
In contrast to the jubilant mood at the DPP over its surprisingly strong showing, at the KMT there was a wave of voices calling for reassessment and asking who should take responsibility.
Huang Jun-ying, an academic taking his second run at the mayoralty of Kaohsiung, was unable to take back this "lost territory" for the KMT despite the all-out personal effort that KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou made on his behalf. Some in the KMT put the blame on Huang's personality, seeing him as too scholarly and wooden, out of touch with the southern city's tradition of hard-charging leaders with strong grassroots ties. But if Kaohsiung were really such a traditional place, why would it elect a woman mayor?
Very early on the KMT defined these elections as "a mid-term confidence vote on President Chen." But during the campaign the story broke about alleged wrongdoing in the use by outgoing Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's administration of the mayor's special fund. Then, in the final moments of the countdown before voting day, came revelations of a "secret" meeting between Ma and PFP chairman James Soong (who was running as a third party candidate in the Taipei mayoral election), casting further doubt on Ma's leadership.
A number of the KMT's "Taiwanese" legislators asserted that the main reasons for the party's disappointing result are that the KMT is "too focused on the north" (Taipei), and is "insufficiently Taiwanese." The KMT, they charge, has never taken seriously enough Taiwanization and the "new Taiwanese" discourse, instead remaining closely linked with "Chinese" identity. At the simplest level this means that all party leaders should be able to discuss national affairs in the Taiwanese dialect and should more strongly promote policies affecting the lives of ordinary working people, and also should more prudently handle issues of party assets and corruption among party members, as well as try to identify with the "new Taiwanese" who make up the bulk of uncommitted middle-of-the-road voters. These are all key issues faced by the KMT and by Ma Ying-jeou.
Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu: 56-year-old Chen is a former member of the National Assembly, head of the Bureau of Social Affairs in Taipei and then in Kaohsiung, and chairman of the Council of Labor Affairs for five years from 2000.