One employee of a public organization is still baffled by it all. Why is it that during the elections last year his union told everyone one moment to support candidate A, and the next was telling them to support candidate B? "The object of their support changed three times in all," he says.

The stress on righteousness that featured strongly across party lines produced its fair share of soldiers of justice.

Too much water for the pot:

Such frequent switching was not really surprising considering there were 403 candidates fighting over 161 seats. With such a narrow chance of getting elected, even the well-oiled machine of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party was unable to smooth over the competing demands of its candidates. They nominated eight candidates for the constituency of southern Taipei City, which was to elect nine legislators in all, but also recommended the three independent candidates Lin Yu-siang, Wang Ling-lin and Chang Chih-min.

The result was an over-abundence of candidates, to a degree that had never before been witnessed in an election in Taiwan. To describe it as an "explosion of candidates" would still not be doing justice to the heat of the moment. Just think about it: Taipei City was to elect 16 representatives out of a total of 48 candidates, including university professors, business magnates, a resigned cabinet member and people with connections, all of whom were engaged in a heated battle. It was like putting ten pairs of chopsticks around a small bowl. No matter who was shoving whom, the situation was bound to be turbulent.

With the number of candidates being way over the top, they naturally pulled out all the stops and it seemed there were just about no limits to the steps they were prepared to take. Some stripped off their clothes to "prove their purity," some stopped trains to "fight for the rights of the voters," while others wheeled out their ailing old mothers to let the world know about their filial piety. One person crisply burnt down his house to try to gain sympathy. All the tricks were pulled out of the hat with the one overriding principle of winning the election.

Although there was seemingly no end to the variety of novel incidents that occurred under the election banners, the underlying principle was always the same. Tricks might be tossed about and turned, but they always remain sleight of hand. Moreover, the polishing that candidates had undergone during their mutual conflicts in previous elections produced some very curious phenomena of the same kind.

Vehicles large and small sport election propaganda in the heated campaign atmosphere.

Widespread love of gimmicks and protests:

Gimmicks are the best way to attract people's attention. In the past it was only opposition candidates who threw election banquets. Due to their success at concentrating support, this time the tactic was adopted by numerous ruling party candidates.

Another well-tried opposition strategy was that of street protests, but this time it was not the monopoly of just one party. One candidate campaigning on an anti-Taiwanese independence ticket stirred up quite a bit of conflict when he went about the southern district of Taipei City "paying his respects" to his opponents. Even veteran ruling party whip Yao Eng-chi, nominated by the ruling party as candidate for Taitung County, did not exempt himself from the local customs and went to demonstrate at the Central Election Commission when his political views were misrepresented on the official election roster. Such examples represent the heat of an election in which there was no way for candidates to just rely on organizations to coordinate their votes to be sure of getting through, as they used to in the past.

Canvassing neighborhoods used to be called sweeping the streets and candidates ended up sweeping more streets than the road sweepers.

Little space left outside the two main parties:

Yet if the ruling party had begun to use the electioneering tactics of the opposition, the opposition had also studied the strategies used by the Kuomintang. For example, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) made its database available and created an embryonic form of campaign organization.

With the two parties having gradually moved closer in their approaches to election management, the space for a third force had shrunk. Apart from a very small number of exceptions, there was very little room left for survival.

"I really do not know where my votes are," exclaimed Li Hsin-chang who was looking for floating voters in his campaign for the Snails Without Shells housing pressure group. In his bid to stand out from the crowd, Li chose a particularly arduous form of gimmickery by putting a weighty model of a snail's shell on his back and traveling more than a thousand kilometers around his constituency to draw attention to the housing problem.

Following the liberalization of party politics an incredible variety of political parties have appeared.

Playing the feminine card on television:

Apart from using gimmicks to make an impression, publicity was also an important weapon in the election. As with the 1991 National Assembly election, television was again opened up for the campaign, although whereas it the National Assembly election parties had to put forward ten candidates before they were allotted a proportion of time, this time the threshold was lowered to five candidates. The KMT, DPP, China Social Democratic Party and the Truth Party were all allotted broadcast time. Although this was the same number of parties as for the National Assembly elections, it was the first time that the Truth Party made it onto the air, replacing the previously participating Nonpartisan Democratic Alliance which had been dissolved.

As for the contents of the election broadcasts, the KMT made its appeal by stressing reform and stability while the DPP looked to health and hope; the China Social Democratic Party criticized both the major parties as having shortcomings and becoming more and more alike.

The broadcasts of all the parties were of a higher quality than a year before, especially the DPP's which had a better quality soundtrack and did not forget to make use of simple slogans this time. Their broadcasts were tightly structured and moved many supporters of moderate reform by appealing to comparatively mellow sentiments.

Both parties played the woman card in the broad-casts. The KMT showed "The Miner's Daughter" to portray the hardships gone through by the star Lu Hsiao-fen when she was growing up and her family only had one egg to share between them on her father's birthday. Finally, because the children were passing round the egg, it fell on to the floor. Thirty or forty years later, due to the achievements brought about by government measures, the miner's children, spread in various locations, only needed to make a telephone call to get in touch and have a reunion and a big cake.

The DPP interviewed the wife of Tai Chen-yao who talked about the misfortune that had befallen her husband in the past for taking part in political activities. Although she had been very scared and worried, the couple now feel no enmity or regrets.

The insistence of candidates on competing with other advertisements instead of putting their flyposters on the special boards provided incurred the wrath of many people.

The third party looks for a space:

The woman card was thus something of a sentimental appeal, but when it came to criticizing opponents, both parties gave no leeway.

The KMT's election broadcasts featured replays of old newsreels showing the DPP's past street demonstrations and laid the charge against them of engaging in riotous politics. The DPP raised the KMT's financial scandals to criticize them on counts of corruption and senility.

The China Social Democratic Party's 9-minute broadcast on the theme of growing up accused both parties of pointless fighting and asked where the people are who are going to plant seeds when "the robbers have all got their places." The video ended by recommending a list of candidates which actually included some running for other parties as well as their own people. Although the two major parties held most of the political resources, there were still many other people who felt they had something to say and took part in the battle. Sharing similar ideals, some writers and film directors, including Hou Hsiao-hsien, joined the Social Democrats and became publicity workers. Their video won the sympathies of many people who were repulsed by money politics, but there were many others who thought that although such political ideals were laudable, the party just did not understand how politicians go about politics. "How could anyone promote people from other parties?" asked one former official of the Social Democrat's central committee.

The same actor --different atmospheres. An election banquet and a political meeting held by the same candidate.

Super campaign assistant--Lee Teng-hui:

Although the two parties engaged in battle, there were areas of striking similarity in the methods of publicity they adopted. "For example, the KMT made much use of famous people, and although the DPP used them less, they did just happen to bring in some well-known faces," says Professor Cheng Tzu-lung of National Chengchi University's department of advertising, noting how the KMT made frequent use of President Lee Teng-hui to grab attention. If candidates did not make full use of his photograph in their election literature, then they would at the very least add his name as a seal of approval on their candidacy.

With President Lee also being chairman of the KMT, it was only logical that the ruling party candidates would use his name. Yet it is most curious that the opposition DPP also tried to hitch a ride on the Lee bandwagon.

The DPP actually went so far as to conclude their broadcasts by calling on people to support President Lee's reforms by voting for the opposition. Meanwhile, in the constituency of Hualien, former DPP chairman Huang Hsin-chieh put a photograph of Lee Teng-hui and himself on his election publicity, hoping to make the appeal of a "meeting of kings."

"Apart from using famous people to make their appeals, there was also much use of similar kinds of counter-appeals" points out Cheng Tzu-lung. A successful political activity had to have three essential elements: a guru, a bible and an enemy. The KMT had Sun Yat-sen and former presidents as its gurus, the Three Principles of the People as its bible and the DPP as a foe. Because the DPP lacked both guru and bible, though, it could only make its enemy concrete by concentrating its fire. "This was the reason why the DPP made special efforts to attack certain individuals, "explains Cheng.

Because Taiwan already has a solid idea that all its people share a common destiny, the political platforms of the candidates might not have been the same, but they all had to stress a love for Taiwan. On the right occasions, many candidates who ran under a banner of opposing independence for Taiwan did not forget to use the Fukien dialect that is widely used on the island instead of Mandarin Chinese. Many election floats often broad-casted in Fukienese from their loudspeakers so as to enhance a kind of intimacy. Even the popular candidate Wang Chien-hsuan, who cannot speak Fukienese too well, would always greet his audiences in the local dialect before making a speech.

Independent candidate Lin Cheng-chieh identifies with the voters by mounting his soapbox with a well-known singer.

Play the righteous card--let the good guy win:

In designing images for candidates, a very interesting phenomenon occurred--a number of people wanted to stress their righteousness and adopted slogans to the effect of "let the good guy win" in an attempt to identify with the people.

In the past, claiming righteousness seemed to be something used frequently by the opposition party, as had been seen with DPP legislator Chen Shui-pien's Righteous Alliance. Now righteousness has risen as an equally loud call from the ruling party, with resigned officials such as Jaw Shau-kong and Wang Chien-hsuan appealing to voters on the basis that they are upright people.

"Even members of the underworld who stood as candidates said that they represented righteousness," maintains Cheng Tzu-lung. That everyone wants righteousness is most likely a warning about the condition social justice.

Another new point of consensus between ruling and opposition parties is that both have their political martyrs. Previously it was only the opposition that could accuse the ruling party of oppressive measures. Now the relationship between "oppressors" and "oppressed" has become much more complicated. For the DPP, former party treasurer Hsu Ming-te, who was accused of vote buying in the party elections to choose candidates to become non-constituency legislators, claimed he pulled out of the DPP to run as an independent because he had been oppressed by his own party. The KMT also came under fire from expelled candidate Chen Je-nan as he made the most of his "oppressed image."

The oppressed have become rather varied today. Not only do both major parties have them, but they also figure among the independent outsiders. Moreover, the reasons for oppression do not always arise from politics. Boss of the Hualon conglomerate, Oung Ta-min, who is in the middle of a lawsuit, joined the election fray claiming he had been "misunderstood" by the public. Using this appeal for justice and making the most of his burden, he qualified to number among the ranks of the "oppressed."

"So how come nobody is standing up for dags' rights?" （photo by HuangTien-chiang）

Tired of the independence-unification debate:

The campaigns saw a great variety of propaganda and gimmick cards played. Yet a careful look at the subject matter of the election reveals nothing very new.

Since the 1989 supplementary elections for the Legislative Yuan, many candidates have liked to make a priority of raising the issue of Taiwan's relationship with mainland China when campaigning. In this election the issue was conspicuously dropped. Most of the ardent advocates of reunification on the right, as well as those who actively seek Taiwanese independence on the left, found it hard to get the interest of voters. The electorate long ago became weary of the long-running and inconclusive debate on this issue. Most of the candidates did not really dare to make their own futures an object of derision.

On the surface there was no debate on the independence issue. But to consolidate the ideological vote there was much private activity over the issue. Some people claimed to be members of a "One China--One Taiwan" faction, while others said they belonged to a "Taiwan First" faction, or "Republic of China" faction. Faced by such a choice, people were confused. Not only diehards but also some floating voters, who really did not know what these candidates were going on about, became sources of votes.

What is not clear is why candidates who spent little time talking about ideology did not always receive a wide welcome when they spoke on public policy.

Tsao Tung-jung, a candidate for Chiayi City, thus told the media that every time he went on stage to talk about his political views and public policy a silence would fall over the packed hall. As soon as he changed tack to criticizing and abusing the opposition, there would be cries of approval. So what were candidates supposed to do?

In fact, before this election both parties planned to make public policy their main line of attack. It is just that the KMT was fixed in a defensive role with a defensive strategy, while the DPP was on the other side and had to be seen to be attacking and hurting the ruling party.

This meant there could be no points of agreement between the two parties when they were discussing public policy. The KMT stressed stability and prosperity, and portrayed the Six-Year National Development Plan, the economy, social order and a good future. The DPP stressed financial scandals, opposition to money politics and the intrusion of unfair political privilege into politics. There was not really much that the two parties could actually talk about together.

Campaigning on the issue of Taiwan's relationship with mainland China -- there was nothing very new about the topics raised in this election.

Independent watchdogs get a foot in:

The excitement of the election battle did not just come from the candidates themselves but took on a very special tincture with the participation of many private organizations.

This was not something entirely unique to this election but had also occurred in the 1989 elections. Candidate Lu Hsiu-lien thus organized an election alliance with the aim of campaigning against vote buying. A group of university professors also created the Cheng She organization to issue reports that scrutinized candidates. Nevertheless, the stands of the organizations that entered the fray all had their obvious colorings, giving rise to doubts about their impartiality.

Because this was the first complete election for legislators, and with the Legislative Yuan normally being the focus of fierce political conflict, the cry of "who is going to supervise the Legislative Yuan?" was constantly being raised by the people.

The Parliament Watch Foundation was established in August last year, drawing members from political, academic, media and business circles and social movements. During the election period the foundation produced a report which assessed the performances of legislators during the last session of the Yuan, which received much attention. A number of other alliances sprang up to put forward their own recommendations for candidates.

Among the numerous election gimmicks candidates with enough money could throw banquets but those less well off had to make do with sweeping the streets for support.

Suing in anger:

The problem was that those who were given good assessments were onto a winner and became hot sellers, while those who were evaluated as being under par were not too happy. More than a few such people took to the courts in anger. The managers of the foundations often found themselves with lawsuits mounting up and the director of Parliament Watch, Yao Li-ming, was accused of tampering with the election by candidate Chang Pen-tsao and others and ended up with several lawsuits at his door.

According to the regulations laid down in the Election Law, distributing anything that might have an adverse influence on elections or injure the public or any other person can be punished by a maximum of five years imprisonment. Although organizations can issue reports from an objective standpoint during the heat of the election and provide the electorate with information, some scholars still feel that this kind of report should be regulated more clearly by law so as to avoid causing unwarranted harm to candidates.

"If the date of issue was before polling day, this could be very damaging for some unfortunate candidates, and there was really no way to make good any mistakes," says Cheng Tzu-lung with the view that it is the timing of the release of assessment reports that should be regulated by law.

Although the excitement of the election atmosphere allowed the public to absorb much democratic nourishment, the visible and invisible costs to society are also quite evident.

President Lee Teng-hui was the candidates' "super helper" with everyone searching out photographs showing themselves in his company.

Evident costs:

According to provisional media statistics, the budgets for relatively well-heeled candidates averaged around NT$10 million. With a conservative estimate of there being 200 such candidates, the total spent by them amounted to at least NT$2 billion. The movement of funds in the Central Bank of China reached NT$10 billion, from which we can get a general idea of just how hot the activity was. As for manpower, each candidate had the assistance of about a hundred helpers which makes a total of 20,000 helpers for 200 candidates. It is said that Wang Chien-hsuan alone had 1,000 voluntary assistants. Such figures do not even include police manpower or election supervisors.

Some idea of what was spent on election literature can be got from the fact that there was an overall increase of pulp mill production of around 50 percent for the election period. The quantity of paper produced by one mill alone reached 600 tons.

What repulsed voters most was vote buying by so-called "golden oxen" candidates. This golden oxen was beaten around the streets as an appeal for voters to reject money politics.

Democracy for life:

The costs of the election are evident. But what is more important is that just carrying out the election using democratic methods was certainly not the ultimate aim. "The existence of democracy in every part of life and not letting elections smother democracy," is paramount in the eyes of Chien Yung-hsiang, a researcher in social sciences at Academia Sinica.

Now that the elections are over and peace and quiet have descended once again, when we think back to the excitement of last month and take a fresh look at life today, perhaps we can calmly think to ourselves--did I really take part in that great democratic occasion?

[Picture Caption]

p.46

(photo by Shan Lin-chiu)

p.48

The stress on righteousness that featured strongly across party lines produced its fair share of soldiers of justice.

p.49

Vehicles large and small sport election propaganda in the heated campaign atmosphere.

p.49

Canvassing neighborhoods used to be called sweeping the streets and candidates ended up sweeping more streets than the road sweepers.

p.49

Following the liberalization of party politics an incredible variety of political parties have appeared.

p.50

The insistence of candidates on competing with other advertisements instead of putting their flyposters on the special boards provided incurred the wrath of many people.

p.51

The same actor --different atmospheres. An election banquet and a political meeting held by the same candidate.

p.52

Independent candidate Lin Cheng-chieh identifies with the voters by mounting his soapbox with a well-known singer.

p.53

"So how come nobody is standing up for dogs' rights?" (photo by HuangTien-chiang)

p.54

Campaigning on the issue of Taiwan's relationship with mainland China -- there was nothing very new about the topics raised in this election.

p.54

Among the numerous election gimmicks candidates with enough money could throw banquets but those less well off had to make do with sweeping the streets for support.

p.55

President Lee Teng-hui was the candidates' "super helper" with everyone searching out photographs showing themselves in his company.

p.55

What repulsed voters most was vote buying by so-called "golden oxen" candidates. This golden oxen was beaten around the streets as an appeal for voters to reject money politics.

p.56

After an enthusiastic election and reasonable voting the most difficult job of all was done by the refuse collectors.

After an enthusiastic election and reasonable voting the most difficult job of all was done by the refuse collectors.