TAIPEI MAYORAL RACE: PERSONALITIES, THEMES, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003995 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2031 TAGS: PGOV TW SUBJECT: TAIPEI MAYORAL RACE: PERSONALITIES, THEMES, AND PROSPECTS Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young, Reason 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary: KMT candidate Hau Lung-bin continues to lead DPP candidate Frank Hsieh by a comfortable margin in popular opinion polls on the December 9 Taipei mayoral election. The ongoing investigation of current Taipei Mayor (and KMT Chairman) Ma Ying-jeou's special fund has had little effect on polling numbers in Taipei. Hsieh hopes the pan-Blue vote will split between Hau and PFP Chairman James Soong, allowing him to score an unlikely upset victory in a city where the DPP is decidedly the underdog. However, support for Soong remains very low. Even if Hsieh cannot win the election, he hopes to gain a sufficiently impressive vote total to boost his presidential prospects in 2008. End Summary. Taipei Race Offers Predictable Outcome -------------- ¶2. (C) Global Views Polling Center Director Tai Li-an recently told AIT that his current projection, based on a sophisticated election prediction model, shows Kuomintang (KMT) mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin winning the December 9 election handily, garnering 51-52 percent of the votes against 38-40 percent for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Frank Hsieh (Chang-ting). Hau's expected wide margin of victory reflects the basic political structure of Taipei City where pan-Blue supporters outnumber pan-Green supporters approximately 60-40 or even 65-35. Hsieh's only hope for eking out a narrow victory is if the pan-Blue vote splits sufficiently between Hau and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong, running as a pan-Blue independent. This is increasingly unlikely, however. Soong has been unable to generate any campaign momentum, and recent media polls show his support hovering around just 9-10 percent. Dai projects this will translate into 5 percent of the votes on election day, as many supporters will decide at the last minute to defect to Hau Lung-bin, the stronger pan-Blue candidate. Three other minor candidates, who will win only small numbers of votes, are not expected to affect the outcome. ¶3. (C) Though Hau, Hsieh and Soong hold similar platforms on most municipal issues, issues are actually playing a relatively unimportant role in this election. In the highly partisan Taipei atmosphere, party or political camp (pan-Green versus pan-Blue) identity is the key election factor, and this factor gives the KMT a strong advantage. Corruption is the biggest election issue, with candidates and campaign teams liberally slinging mud, trying to tarnish opponents and their parties with corruption allegations. Corruption has been the main issue in Taiwan politics for more than a year with the ruling DPP on the defensive, hammered incessantly by the opposition over scandals involving those close to President Chen and even the President himself. As a result, public support for the DPP has plummeted. The KMT has been hoping to capitalize on the corruption issue and score a decisive victory in Taipei, which would help lay groundwork for a critical push to recover power in the 2008 presidential election. Most recently, KMT calculations have been disturbed by an investigation of Ma Ying-jeou's possible misuse of a special mayoral fund, but it does not appear this will have much effect on the Taipei election. KMT Candidate Hau Lung-bin -------------- ¶4. (C) Hau Lung-bin, son of the former General, Premier and KMT leader Hau Pei-tsun, left the KMT in 1995 to join the pro-unification and reformist New Party. He joined DPP President Chen's cabinet as Environmental Protection Minister from 2001-2003. After resigning over an environmental policy dispute, Hau headed Taiwan's Red Cross from 2004 to 2006. In January 2006 he rejoined the KMT to compete for the party's Taipei mayoral nomination. Despite losing an initial vote by KMT members, the first part of the mayoral primary process, Hau still won the overall contest based on his strong showing in a public opinion poll that was not limited to KMT or pan-Blue supporters. While lacking deep roots in the KMT TAIPEI 00003995 002 OF 003 organization or at the party grassroots level, the personable and moderate Hau, like Ma, has a "direct sales" appeal to pan-Blue voters and the general public. Some KMT members resent Hau for being an interloper or for his prior service in the Chen administration. Nonetheless, KMT leaders are rallying around him because they view Taipei as a must-win in the party's quest to return to power in the 2008 presidential election. ¶5. (C) Some detractors call Hau "Ma light," underscoring his weak political and administrative experience. Hau's campaign pledges include cleaning up the Danshui River, cracking down on burglars, and reducing the number of textbooks students need to read. His proposal to turn the downtown Sungshan airport into a terminal for future cross-strait flights, also supported by Soong, contrasts with Hsieh's plan to turn the airport into a park. Hau and Hsieh have battled over the issue of corruption, Hau pointing to Hsieh being named as a defendant in the Kaohsiung Metro scandal and Hsieh attacking Hau for enjoying water, electricity, and telephone subsidies granted to his father at taxpayer expense. Hau's team is preparing to counter other expected last-minute attacks from the Hsieh camp, which could include allegations about his father's involvement in corruption in the purchase of Lafayette-class frigates from France in the 1990s, and about an illegitimate son supposedly fathered by Hau Lung-bin in the U.S. DPP Candidate Frank Hsieh -------------- ¶6. (C) After losing the DPP's 1994 Taipei mayoral primary to Chen Shui-bian, Frank Hsieh planted his roots in Kaohsiung and was elected mayor for two consecutive terms starting in ¶1998. Well regarded as mayor, Hsieh resigned in 2005 to become premier but was forced out just one year later by President Chen, who was trying to reconsolidate his own power after losses in local elections. After much cajoling, the DPP persuaded a reluctant Hsieh last spring to run in Taipei for the sake of the party, despite the slim chances of victory. Party leaders hope Hsieh's campaign will boost votes for DPP city council candidates. If he does well by garnering over 40 percent of the vote, Hsieh would also boost his own chances to win the DPP 2008 presidential nomination. ¶7. (SBU) Hsieh's theme of "love and trust" is intended to appeal to the large numbers of neutral and moderate voters in Taipei. He is also downplaying the DPP element of his campaigning by minimizing the number of appearances by DPP heavyweights. Attacks on Hau Lung-bin's alleged perks by Hsieh and his supporters have not been especially effective as Hau and his camp have responded tit-for-tat, charging Hsieh with corruption in connection with the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit kickback scandal from the time he served as Kaohsiung mayor. In polling, Hsieh lags Hau on having a corruption-free image. Hsieh has pledged to duplicate in Taipei his successful experience as Kaohsiung mayor. Centerpieces of Hsieh's platform include: revitalizing older city neighborhoods; promoting clean governance; protecting Taipei's traditional culture; and reducing examination pressures on middle school students. Hsieh promises to clean up Taipei's rivers, touting his past experience in cleaning up Kaohsiung's "Love Canal." Hsieh has also pledged to promote Taipei as potential host of the Olympics in 2020, an idea highly popular with the public but uncertain to translate into votes for him. "Independent" James Soong -------------- ¶8. (C) After long service at senior levels in the KMT, including as Taiwan provincial governor, James Soong broke with the party in 2000 and as an independent ran a close second to Chen Shui-bian in the 2000 presidential election. Soong and his supporters then founded the Deep Blue People First Party (PFP). Once a major political force, the PFP is now in steep decline with many of its prominent legislators having returned to the KMT fold in recent months. Soong apparently hoped but failed to trade his support for Ma's TAIPEI 00003995 003 OF 003 2008 presidential bid in return for Ma's agreement to support Soong as the "pan-Blue" Taipei mayoral candidate. Soong sought to boost his popularity by participating prominently in the September-October "Depose President Chen" movement, but has been unable to generate public support for his mayoral candidacy. Rumors continue to circulate that Soong might withdraw from the race if Ma and the KMT agree to reserve certain legislative districts for PFP candidates in ¶2007. In his campaigning, Soong has highlighted his previous experience as provincial governor in the 1990s, but this approach does not seem to resonate with the Taipei public because Taipei was not under Soong's jurisdiction. Soong is also focusing on urban renewal for older districts and programs to stimulate the economy and help low-income people. Soong's failure to generate campaign momentum may reflect widespread public perceptions that he is a spoiler and a political opportunist. Other Candidates -------------- ¶9. (C) Political gadfly Lee Ao, an independent legislator, has no platform on city issues and is not mounting a serious election campaign. Rather, he is using the race as a means to express his dissatisfaction with the KMT and especially the DPP, saying he wants to use the mayorship to confront the central government. Lee Ao attracts support from a small number of Deep Blue cynics. Former President Lee Teng-hui picked television and radio news personality Chou Yu-kou as the pan-Green Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) candidate. The TSU, however, recently expelled Chou for backing the recall SIPDIS of President Chen over corruption, concerned that her position would alienate TSU supporters and cost the party seats in the city council. Chou's "dare to say, dare to do" campaign focuses on improving quality of life for women, children, and disadvantaged groups, but she is best known for televised emotional outbursts. Perennial mayoral candidate Ko Szu-hai, a former magistrate in Hua-lien county, rounds out the pack of candidates. He is widely known as "Taipei's Dog Man" for his colorful shenanigans, often performed with a menagerie of stray dogs in tow. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Barring an unlikely upset of Hau, the greatest interest in the Taipei race will focus on how many votes Hsieh garners and how close he can make the election. If he is able to break the 40 percent threshold in votes received, that would be counted as an important achievement that could boost Hsieh's prospects in the DPP presidential primary next year. Not reaching the 36 percent total the DPP won in the last Taipei election in 2002 would be seen as a setback both for him and the DPP. Hau, assuming he wins, may not yet have the political depth and island-wide appeal he would need to use Taipei City Hall as a springboard for the presidency, as Chen Shui-bian has accomplished and Ma hopes to accomplish. YOUNG