Source: Global Times
[Global Times special correspondent Chen Lifei] Taiwan's "nine-in-one" election at the end of the year began on August 29 and ended on September 2. As the election date of November 26 draws closer and closer, the candidates of the three camps of blue, green and white are basically determined, of which Taipei and Taoyuan are the "key battlefields" of this election, and the main goal of the Kuomintang is to capture Taipei City and Taoyuan City; The DPP sees the victory over Taipei City as the bottom line for not losing the election, while the BJP wants to attract votes that hate blue and green. Over the past few days, around the election, the "squid war" and "mud war" have been staged one after another, and the island is in chaos.
People from all walks of life are engaged in gimmicks
The "nine-in-one" election is a "midterm examination" for the leadership of the Taiwan region and is held in the middle of his term of office (November of the following year). It refers to the merger of nine types of local public officials, namely, "municipal mayors", "municipality directly under the central government", county (city) mayors, county (city) councilors, township (town, city) mayors, township (town, city) people's representatives, "municipality" mountain minority district chiefs, "municipality directly under the central government" mountain minority district representatives, and village (li) chiefs, to vote on the same day, in order to save election expenses and streamline the election schedule, which has been officially implemented since 2014. This year's "nine-in-one" election will be voted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 26, with an estimated number of nearly 19.3 million voters and about 760,000 "first-in-one" voters, and 11,023 local public officials will be elected.
2 September was the last day of registration for the election. Kuomintang Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan's goal was to "strive for re-election", originally scheduled to "make the finale", but unexpectedly encountered a typhoon and changed his itinerary, and the 7 campaign directors who were first exposed registered on their behalf. His rival, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for mayor of Taichung, Tsai Chi-chang, had already completed his registration on August 29.
In order to attract attention, all the candidates made a big gimmick when registering. On September 1, Jiang Wan'an, a KMT candidate for mayoral Taipei, accompanied by 12 youth representatives, rode a bicycle to the Taipei Election Commission to register and shouted the slogan "You add Taipei, it is infinite, Taipei Wan'an", which is quite obvious to attract young voters. On the same day, Zhao Wenjun, a candidate for the first constituency of the Pingtung County Council, skated and registered as a sports coach, teacher and sports athlete. Chiayi County Councillors candidate Huang Qihao started from the service office and ran all the way to the Chiayi County Election Committee to register, a total of 12 kilometers, all the way to the live broadcast, running to the location has been exhausted and breathless.
Female candidates are not to mention more. On August 31, Wang Wenxin, a candidate for the Sanmin District Council in Kaohsiung City, wore a white veil, meaning she was a "newcomer" to the election. Wang Wenxin is the wife of doctor Su Weishuo, su Weishuo said that Wang Wenxin's campaign funds are only NT$100,000 after paying the deposit, and hopes that everyone will treat Wang Wenxin's candidacy as a "wedding banquet" and "the gift money will be directly transferred to Wang Wenxin's political contribution." Li Yajing, a member of the Kuomintang Kaohsiung City Council, wore fairy clothes and held a star stick to "light up Fengshan Mountain." Some public opinion on the island said that the candidates each made a "strange move" in the hope of gaining the attention of the media and voters, but in the end they had to rely on political opinions to speak.
"Three Zheng Chaos Peach"
Of the nine elections, the one that has attracted the most attention is the "Six Capitals" election, the six "municipal mayor" elections, including Taipei, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan, of which Taipei and Taoyuan are particularly critical.
A record 12 taipei mayoral candidates included Jiang Wan'an of the Kuomintang, Chen Shizhong of the Democratic Progressive Party, Huang Shanshan of the non-party membership, Su Huanzhi of the "Taiwan Restoration", Zhang Jiahao of the "Taiwan Animal Protection Party", and Tong Wenxuan, who is not a member of the party. The most competitive are the top 3, TVBS TV released on August 29, showing that Jiang Wan'an's support rate is first, Huang Shanshan is second, and Chen Shizhong is third; On August 30, a poll released by the pro-green media person Zhou Yuke's "Fangyan" showed that Chen Shizhong had the first support rate. However, the two polls also have something in common, that is, Chen Shizhong is the least liked candidate, of which the TVBS poll shows that more than half of the people do not like Chen Shizhong, and the hate value is the highest. Some netizens said bluntly, "Normal people don't like him." Taipei City Councilor Hou Hanting criticized Chen Shizhong for thinking only about power, and playing from morning to night, without the heart of the municipal government. He criticized that Chen Shizhong's Facebook is full of warmth and cordiality, all of which are fake, and it is the real Chen Shizhong who angrily chokes reporters and talks about garbage at the press conference, "He is a person full of lies."
Media person Wei An predicted on September 1 that 45% of Jiang Wan'an's votes could not be run away, and he "as Chiang Ching-kuo's grandson, is not blue enough?" "No one can snatch Pan Blue's support for him. According to a DPP source, according to the assessment of factional think tanks, after Taoyuan was "changed" due to the plagiarism case of the paper, the Battle of Taipei has become the last line of defense for consolidating the core of power within the DPP, and at present, there has been a saying that "If Taipei City wins, it is not a loss", which to some extent also highlights that the election situation in the Green Camp is indeed not optimistic. Therefore, the DPP is currently most worried about the "abandonment effect." "Legislator" Lin Junxian said on September 1 that there is now a situation in which Jiang Wan'an is not strong enough, and Huang Shanshan is even stronger than thought, "As long as Huang Shanshan is not abandoned, Chen Shizhong's chances of being elected are of course high."
The most chaotic is the Taoyuan mayoral election. First, DPP candidate Lin Zhijian was forced to withdraw from the election because of "plagiarism of papers", Tsai Ing-wen was replaced by "legislator" Zheng Yunpeng, and then KMT candidate Zhang Shanzheng was also accused by green camp of plagiarizing the "Agricultural Committee" agricultural electronic research plan presided over when he was deputy general manager of Acer, but this is completely different from the paper. According to a September 2 report by the China Times, Zhang Shanzheng has retained a lawyer to sue Taoyuan Mayor Zheng Wencan and Zheng Yunpeng and others for allegedly defaming and violating the Election and Strike Law with the intention of preventing people from being elected. On September 1, Zheng Baoqing, the founding father of the Democratic Progressive Party and a former "legislator," registered to run for mayor of Taoyuan. He bitterly criticized the DPP's "secret room consultations" as the norm and had lost the spirit of party building, claiming that a "new non-party movement" would be launched. As a result, the situation in Taoyuan was more chaotic, and with the addition of Lai Xiangling of the People's Party, there were 4 people competing for mayor of Taoyuan.
"Three Zheng chaotic peaches, the people are what is the truth", veteran media person Chen Chaoping wrote on September 2, the DPP Taoyuan chess game, can be described as "three Zheng chaotic peach", of which Zheng Yunpeng followed Tsai Ing-wen, chose to believe Lin Zhijian, was ridiculed "took a plagiarism, and then came a quite plagiarized", but "three Zheng chaotic peach, sacrifice the new non-party movement, can save the Taoyuan people from water and fire?" Media person Xie Hanbing analyzed that more than 80% of kmtone supporters have returned to support Zhang Shanzheng, while only 60% of DPP supporters have rallied to support Zheng Yunpeng, and zheng Baoqing can have a decisive impact on the election as long as he can tap 5% of dpp supporters. However, Shen Fuxiong, a former "legislator" of the Democratic Progressive Party, believes that not many people know that the chances of the supporters being elected are not great, so it is difficult to say whether Zheng Baoqing will affect the election of the Green Camp."
Relatively speaking, the election situation of other "municipalities directly under the central government" is relatively clear. Among them, New Taipei City is the "Houlong War", and the two have recently competed with steamed buns. According to the China Times Electronic News reported on September 2, Lin Jialong, the dpp's new taipei mayoral candidate, compared his opponent, Hou Youyi, the mayor of New Taipei, to "white steamed buns", saying that "eating the third white steamed bun will be sick due to obesity and poisoning.". Hou Youyi's office is not willing to show weakness, saying that steamed buns are the food of the common people, and many people in Taiwan are living by selling steamed buns, and Lin Jialong's speech undoubtedly caused an impact on the steamed bun industry, calling on Lin to apologize to the whole Taiwan steamed steamed bread industry.
"Hate the DPP"
Media person Wei An predicted that the KMT would crush New Taipei and Taichung, and that the current mayor of New Taipei, Hou Youyi, and Taichung Mayor Lu Xiuyan would be re-elected "without suspense." Network analysis believes that blue and green will each take 3 "municipalities directly under the central government". With the exception of Taichung and New Taipei, the KMT should win the Taoyuan mayoral election, while the DPP has little suspense in Kaohsiung and Tainan, and Chen Shizhong will be elected mayor of Taipei with difficulty. Ling Media predicted that among the 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, the KMT optimistically can "grab 16", while the DPP is pessimistic about "guaranteeing 4".
"More than half of the six capitals" was a promise made by Zhu Lilun when he became chairman of the Kuomintang last year. For the KMT, the good news at the moment is that Wang Qianqiu, former director of the Kaohsiung City Information Bureau, announced on September 1 that former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu may return to assist in the election at the end of the year. She revealed that Han continues to pay attention to major events in Taiwan as an observer. However, the unity of the KUOMINTT has always been a problem, and on the 2nd, Zhong Dongjin, chairman of the Miaoli County Council of the Kuomintang, completed the registration of the county chief's candidacy and will face the party disciplinary punishment of the KMT when the party has nominated Xie Fuhong to run for Miaoli County.
According to the China Times, the KMT still has an advantage in most counties and cities, and the DPP only has a strong election in the 4 southern counties and cities. The article believes that the incumbent has the advantage of governing, goes all out to stabilize the election situation, has not seen serious mistakes, and it is not easy for challengers to succeed. "Lianhe Bao" said that compared with the crisis caused by the DPP's "Taoyuan Storm", the situation of the Blue Army seems to be more favorable, but it is impossible to rely on the DPP's mistakes alone to lie down and choose, such as the miaoli split and the integration of various local forces, and unity is still a hot potato. According to the Hong Kong China Commentary Agency, there are several major observation points in the election campaign. The first is whether the "anti-Chinese card" can work. Recently, the DPP has played the "anti-China card" again, and Chen Shizhong, who is running for mayor of Taipei, and Tsai Qichang, who is running for mayor of Taichung, have all played this card, but the current epidemic situation, cross-strait relations, and the international situation are different from the past, and at present, this card does not resonate much. Second, the atmosphere of "hating the DPP" may form. The epidemic, public order, Lin Zhijian's plagiarism case, and the deterioration of the situation in the Taiwan Strait are all unfavorable to the ruling DPP. Guo Zhengliang, a former "legislator" of the Democratic Progressive Party, even believes that the Green Camp in Northern Taiwan may all be defeated. The article said: Although the "nine-in-one" is a local election, it will have a great impact on the election of the leader of the Taiwan region two years later. If the atmosphere of "hating the DPP" continues to ferment, Taiwan's political situation will inevitably change drastically.
Luo Zhiqiang wants to compete for 2024?
Luo Zhiqiang, a former Taipei city councilor who is in the United States, broke a heavy news on the 2nd, and he solemnly considered running for the leadership of the Taiwan region.
Luo Zhiqiang said on Facebook on the 2nd that he walked from Taoyuan to Hualien for 32 days, and along the way, his mother hugged him and cried bitterly, "worried about the future of the next generation"; Some students clasped his hands and said, "Young people do not all agree with the hegemony of the ruling party, many people are just afraid of being bullied, dare to be angry and dare not speak out"; Some seafood shop owners sighed at him, when Ma Ying-jeou was in power, there were 3 thriving seafood shops nearby, and there was an endless stream of tour buses, and now two are closed, leaving only one of his family to sell bento to barely support. Luo Zhiqiang said that at a time when Taiwan's democracy is collapsing, the two sides of the strait are fierce, and the people are suffering, what he has to do and what to do can make the greatest contribution to Taiwan, and running for election is one of the "key choices." He revealed that he will report on the results of his consideration in San Francisco on the 4th.
In this regard, some netizens expressed their support for "strong brother", but some people advised him to think twice.
Born in Hualien in March 1970, Luo Zhiqiang holds a master's degree in law from National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He volunteered for the New Party in the early days, then joined the Kuomintang, and served as a member of the Taipei City Council and deputy secretary general of Ma Ying-jeou's office. He announced his candidacy for mayor of Taoyuan in April and resigned as a member of the Taipei City Council in May. However, KMT Chairman Zhu Lilun pushed former "chief executive" Zhang Shanzheng out of the horse, And Luo Zhiqiang chose Chengquan, announced his withdrawal in June, and formed a "strong team" in July to assist Zhang Shanzheng and other KMT candidates. (Zhang Ruo)