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Feb 22, 2007

Legislative election '07 roundup (02/22)

DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) have both announced their intentions to participate in the '08 presidential election. Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) has been dropping a few hints but hasn't made an official announcement.

Both the Green and blue camps are suffering from intra- and inter-party worry about how to handle the upcoming legislative districts, since there's "a lot of monks but a little porridge" 「僧多粥少」.

There has been a lot of news in the last few days. Here's soem of the major news.

  • Some agreements have been made on who will stand for election where. Current legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道) will stand for an at large seat to avoid conflict with former minister Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), who will go for Kaohsiung County, Dist. 2. Further, legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) will go for Kaohsiung City, Dist. 1. The KMT has not yet come to any conclusions on who will stand for what seats.
  • For those districts that can't be arranged by concensus, the DPP hopes to let party member votes count for 30% while public opinion polls taken by the party will count for 70% of the decision. The DPP also hopes to have some hot babes run in districts that look like they'll be hard.
  • DPP legislators are fighting to be on the list for the first 12 at large seats, since they figure they can win at least that many at large seats. Contenders include Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), (王幸男) , Wang Sing-nan, Hsu Rong-shu (許榮淑), Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌) , Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), Hsueh Ling (薛凌), Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), Tsai Huang-liang ( 煌瑯), and Alice Chiu (邱議瑩). Legislators have denied that 3 seats have already been promised to Chai Trong-rong 蔡同榮, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
  • The DPP has said they would like to coordinate nominations with the TSU. One unnamed legislatore gave the example of not nominating someone for the Taipei County's 5th district, giving it to TSU legislator Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙), but said the pre-condition was to see if they would step back from other Taipei County seats.
  • Green and blue camps are debating if the party survey's of citizens of a district should be surveying a candidate's popularity among everybody or just among those who are loyal green or blue supporters. Outspoken "Ma-basher" Wang Shih-jian (王世堅) and PFP legislator Ping Ting-kuo (馮定國) have both been outspoken in calling for primary-like popularity polls, since relative extremists do better than centerists in such polls. They're out to keep their seats. It is said that such exclusive polling would be bad news for the DPP's New Tide faction (新潮流). The DPP has said they will decide about just how much if at all the opinion surveys will exclude blue voters during the next central committee meeting.
  • Legislators are spending a good chunk of lunar new year holidays campaigning near their home districts.
  • PFP-KMT legislative tensions have been mounting, and there are lots of questions on how the two parties will coordinate things now that Ma Ying-jeou has resigned. Few PFP legislators willing to say if they will accept whatever agreement the Pan-blue alliance agrees on for nominating legislators. There's lots of mumbling -- the alliance might not last through the '07 elections, since all the PFP legislators want a chance of winning reelection.
  • Legislators are getting desperate now to boost their general polling results, so they're brainstorming new ideas. DPP legislator Lin Kuo-chin (林國慶) has put out a compilation of songs to try and swoon voters over, while KMT legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) so he'll look clean come election time. Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄) of Kaohsiung says he plans on spending more time this year back home, and less time up in Taipei.
  • CNA says legislators in the north and south are using different strategies. Northern legislators are focused on "asking questions during legislative sessions and on service" (問政與服務), while Southern legislators are emphasising service and identity issues. Taipei county legislator Wang Shui-hui (王淑慧) wants southerners to give calls up to Taipei to try and change the blue-heavy balance of politics in Taipei; she adds that "as long as the KMT is so arrogant, I'll fight back. 「只要國民黨還是那麼囂張,我一定還會反制」。" Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) of the competitive Yunlin province is starting a youth volunteer organization 「希望工程志工隊」to help the elderly and disadvantaged.
  • The TSU (I can't really pick a color for them-- they're changing too fast) is also fighting for its life. Thankfully, they have so few legislators all the current ones will be nominated again. They're also smart enough to be focusing on the at-large seats instead of district seats, but they're scared there isn't enough time to change the party's image for the next election. Mark Ho ( 何敏豪 ) , TSU caucus whip, has said the TSU plans to nominate someone in every district. That doesn't look good for cooperation with the DPP, however.
Source articles (in some cases, only opening paragraphs of full articles I read on the wires):

小綠抗大綠 台聯修路線提名遍地開花搶市場 (CNA)

綠委僧多粥少難協調 民調版本決定籌碼
(CNA)

泛藍參選爆炸橘營不退讓 國親聯盟有得喬
(CNA)

拼單一選區 綠委跑行程糗事多
(CNA)

出專輯趕公祭 立委絞盡腦汁突圍
(CNA)

拼單一選區 綠委春節拜年固樁不得閒
(CNA)


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