Preliminary report on candidates running for

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TAIPEI 003642 SIPDIS DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON DEPT FOR EAP/TC, INR/EAP FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON TW SUBJECT: Preliminary report on candidates running for yearend mayoral/magistrate elections ¶1. Summary. Although the registration for candidates running for the year-end mayoral/magistrate elections has not yet begun, both the KMT and DPP have already announced their candidates. Following are the biographies of the candidates nominated thus far, and a synopsis of the current outlook. With the exception of Taitung County, where the incumbent is an independent, all incumbents are DPP members. Despite the KMT's apparent resurgence following the KMT Chairmanship election, Southern Taiwan popular opinion continues to tilt heavily "Green" and it seems likely that all incumbents will prevail. End Summary. Kaohsiung County -------------- ¶2. Yang Chiu-hsiung (DPP): incumbent Kaohsiung County Magistrate elected in 2001 Age: 46 years old Education: Master, Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University Bachelor, Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University Yang was first elected as a Provincial Assembly Member in 1994, and as a Legislative Yuan Member in 1998. Yang has a "clean" image and performed well this term. He has the advantage of being an incumbent and people expect that he will win his re-election bid. Lin Yi-shih (KMT): incumbent Legislator elected first in 1998, 2001, and 2004 Age: 37 years old Education: Graduate of Department of Dentistry, Taipei Medical College Lin is son of Lin Hsien-pao, the leader of the Red Faction in Kaohsiung County. He supported Wang Jin-pyng in the KMT Chairman election. He is well known because he served as the emcee for many campaign rallies during the last presidential election and because he frequently participates in political TV talk shows. Chiayi City -------------- ¶3. Chen Li-chen(DPP): incumbent Chiayi City Mayor running for re-election Age: 44 years old Education: Master in Environmental Medicine, China Medical College, Taiwan BA in Public Hygiene Dept., China Medical College, Taiwan Chen served as Acting Mayor when former Mayor Chang Po-ya was appointed Minister of Interior Ministry in May 2000 and she was later elected as Mayor in 2001 with Chang's support. She was an independent until 2003 when she joined the DPP. Her switch in affiliations surprised Chiayi City residents and she had to publicly tell people that Chang was aware of her decision. She won the party primary over the son of the President's adviser, Lee Hung-shih, to become the DPP candidate. Huang Min-hui (KMT),incumbent Legislator elected 2001 and 2004 Age: 46 years old Education: Bachelor of National Normal University, Taipei Huang was a former National Assembly member. Huang's father was a Taiwan Provincial Assembly member from 1990 until his death in 1998. Because of the long-time constituent services performed as public servants by both her and her father, our contact said that Huang has chance to win the race. Chiayi County -------------- ¶4. Chen Ming-wen (DPP): incumbent Chiayi County Magistrate, running for re-election Age: 50 years old Education: Bachelor, Philosophy Department of Tung Hai University, Taiwan Chen is the leader of the Lin Faction, one of the two dominant factions in Chiayi County. He was a KMT member until 2001. He joined the DPP in 2002 and ran as a DPP candidate for Chiayi Magistrate against KMT candidate, Weng Chung-chun, who is one of the Huang Faction heavyweights. KMT candidate -- KMT has not announced its nominee because no one of the Huang faction wants to run against the incumbent due to Chen's good performance and high approval rating. It is said that KMT will recruit the Director of Civil Affairs Bureau of Taipei City Government Ho Hong-Jung to run, but this has not yet been confirmed. Ho Hong-jung is a native of Chiayi County. Judging from the current situation, it is expected that incumbent Magistrate Chen has a good chance to win his re-election bid. Tainan City -------------- ¶5. Hsu Tain-tsair (DPP): incumbent Tainan City Mayor, he is running for re-election Age: 55 years old Education: BA and MA in Economics, Chinese Culture University, Taipei. Studied at doctoral program in Business Administration, Rutgers University, New Jersey Hsu studied in the U.S. for more than 10 years during the 1980's. He was "blacklisted" by Taiwan authorities because of the pro-Taiwan independence views he expressed as a student in the U.S. He was legislator from 1992 to 2001. He quit the DPP in 1995 and ran unsuccessfully against former Mayor George Chang. He re-joined the DPP in 2001 and was endorsed by President Chen to run against DPP's incumbent. Hsu easily won the election. As an incumbent facing a weak KMT candidate, Hsu has very good chance to win his re-election bid. Chen Jung-shen (KMT): KMT candidate ran in 2001 Mayoral election, former Provincial Assembly member (1991 - 1995) and Tainan City Councilor (1987-1991) Age: 56 years old Education: Bachelor in Public Administration, Tung Hai University, Taiwan. Studies at Seattle City Community University Chen unsuccessfully ran in the 2001 mayoral election. He became the KMT candidate simply because there was no other better KMT candidate. According to our observations, he is not popular and has a poor image and his campaign style has not appealed to voters so far. One of our contacts in the Tainan area even told us that his chance to win is almost zero. Tainan County -------------- ¶6. Su Huan-chih (DPP): incumbent Tainan County Magistrate, he is running for re-election Age: 50 years old Education: LL.B., National Taiwan University, Taipei LL.M., Fujen Catholic University, Taipei Magistrate Su studied Environmental Science at the University of Denver. He was a legislator from 1992 to 2001. He was President Chen's campaign assistant in the 1989 legislation election and First Lady's (Wu Shu-chen) assistant when she was a legislator. Compared with former Magistrate Mark Chen's (incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs) performance, Su's performance has not been good, especially because of his interactions with his staff and the County Council. Since Tainan County is the home of President Chen, Chen is expected to campaign strongly on Su's behalf, and Su expects that will have a major positive impact on his re-election campaign. Kuo Tien-tsai (KMT): former Legislator (2001-2004) Age: 43 years old Education: Doctor in Education, National Cheng Chi University, Taipei Master in Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung Post-doctorate Research, Illinois University Kuo was the Director of the Education Bureau of Changhua County before being elected to the Legislature in 2001. His high level of education and his good image appeal to the young and middle class. He also has the support of scholars because of public service he has completed in the educational field. Kuo expects that the new KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's support will increase voter turnout for Kuo, but Magistrate Su does not think that people who are dissatisfied with the ruling party will switch their support to KMT candidates because of Ma. Pingtung County -------------- ¶7. Tsao Chi-hung (DPP): former Legislator (1999-2004),and former Provincial Assembly member (1994-1998),and former National Assembly member (1992-1994) Age: 57 years old Education: Bachelor in Education, Chinese Culture University, Taipei Tsao was a teacher at junior high school before he was SIPDIS elected to the Legislature. As a ruling party legislator, Tsao feels that "change of Taiwan" cannot rely on SIPDIS politicians, but he hopes that the enthusiasm in politics can carry over to improving one's community. He has been advocating a "community development project" to promote the idea of reforming the living environment in Taiwan. Wang Chin-shih (KMT): incumbent Pingtung City Mayor, elected in 2001 Age: 57 years old Education: Master in Public Affairs, National Sun-Yat- Sen University, Kaohsiung Wang ran for Pingtung Mayor eleven years ago and lost by a small margin. A journalist for 27 years, he finally was elected as Pingtung City Mayor in 2001. Wang maintains a good relationship with the former Magistrate Su Chia-chuan, the current Minister of the Interior Ministry. Compared to DDP candidate Tsao Chi-hung, Wang's campaign seems to be falling behind because of the influence of the KMT Chairmanship election and the Central Standing Committee's elections. Taitung County -------------- ¶8. Hsu Ching-yuan (Independent): incumbent Magistrate elected in 2001. Age: 48 years old Education: Bachelor in Business Administration, National Cheng Kung University Hsu began his political career in 1986 as Taitung County Councilor while he was KMT member. He also served as Provincial Assembly member (1994-1998). He withdrew from the KMT in 1997 to run for magistrate against the KMT candidate, but failed. In 1998 he defeated the KMT and DPP candidates to become the first non-KMT Legislator in Taitung. While serving as Provincial Assembly Member he became then Governor James Soong's associate. When James Soong formed the PFP in 2000, he joined the PFP, ran for magistrate, and won the election. In 2004 legislature election, he campaigned for DPP's candidate under the promise that Central Government would allocate funds to expand Nan-huei High Way (the highway connects Taitung County and Pintung County). In return, the DPP did not nominate a candidate to run for magistrate in the upcoming election. Wu Chun-li (KMT): incumbent Speaker of Taitung County Council Age: 43 years old Education: graduate of Ho-chun Technical Junior College, Kaohsiung County Wu was the KMT candidate in the 2001 magistrate election. He has an aggressive campaign style, but compared to Magistrate Hsu, he does not presently appear popular enough to win the election. Penghu County -------------- ¶9. The Penghu County Magistrate Lai Feng-wei is serving his second term and cannot run again. Lai will seek to be the KMT candidate for Kaohsiung City Mayor for the year-end 2006 election. That leaves the race without an incumbent. Chen Kuang-fu (DPP): incumbent DPP Penghu County Office Chairman Age: 50 years old Education: Graduate of Fuhua Senior High School, Kaohsiung City Chen is a native of Penghu, but has lived in Kaohsiung for a long time. He was elected to the Legislature in 1992 in Kaohsiung City and served until 1998. He returned to Penghu to run as the DPP candidate for Magistrate in 2001, but was defeated by incumbent Magistrate Lai. He stayed in Penghu to serve as DPP Office Chairman in order to cultivate connections for the upcoming elections. Because he is doing well and people are recognizing his work, he appears to have a better chance at winning this time. Wang Chien-fa (KMT): incumbent Makung City Mayor (one biggest city in Penghu, half of all Penghu residents live in the city). Age: 56 years old Education: Graduate of National Open University Wang is a native of Makung City. His older brother served as Penghu Magistrate from 1989 until his death in 1992. Before being elected as Makung City Mayor, Wang served in the County Government as Director of the Tax Bureau and Bureau of Finance. If a candidate in the Penghu County elections can win in Makung City, then the candidate is ensured of a victory in the election. It is still hard to see who presently has the upper hand in Makung City. THIELE KEEGAN