Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (
The choice builds an atmosphere of unity and increases the momentum for the pan-green camp. There are at least eight reasons why Su's agreeing to be Hsieh's running mate increases the chance of the DPP winning the election.
First, Su has considerable influence thanks to his previous posts, not only inside the DPP, but across the country. This will win the DPP more votes, including those of many Hakka.
Second, Hsieh won the DPP primaries with only 44 percent of the votes, less than half, while Su won 33 percent. This means that they have the combined support of almost 80 percent of the party. Add to that the legislators, mayors and county commissioners who rooted for Su during the primaries, and it's obvious that a Hsieh-Su ticket will succeed in mobilizing the active help of regional pan-green leaders and party officials.
Third, Taipei County is Taiwan's biggest reservoir of votes, and it is predominantly pan-blue. But Su has been elected Taipei county commissioner twice, beating his opponent by 50,000 votes when he was elected for his second term. Consequently, the DPP might lose by only a small margin in Taipei County, or even win by a small margin, and this can contribute a lot to a pan-green victory.
Fourth, President Chen Shui-bian (
Fifth, with Su joining Hsieh, the pan-green camp's important newspapers and talk shows will be in line with the public opinion supporting them, and the media will be able to stir up the enthusiasm of pan-green voters.
Sixth, the fact that Hsieh and Su have joined forces can make up for the rift between factions caused by the party primaries. Yu's supporters are reasonable and will support the combination that has the best chance of winning. Thus, people who supported different candidates in the primaries can now unite, and together they will stand strong.
Seventh, I can already imagine a debate between the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) wishy-washy Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) -- also a former premier -- and a strong Su. It will be like a high school student facing the school principal. It's obvious who will lose that debate, and Su will win the DPP some points here.
Eighth, at the time of the debates for the primaries, Su clearly opposed the "one China" framework in the Constitution, and emphasized that he is in favor of "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait." Su's running for vice president will help promote the normalization of the country as a major election issue. It will move pan-green voters and lift their fighting spirit. Flying the "Taiwan" banner, the DPP will win next year's election.
It's easy to see the advantages of Su joining up with Hsieh. Now, the most important thing is reaching a consensus on all levels within the DPP to promote smooth cooperation and the prompt creation of a strong election strategy.
Cao Changqing is an independent commentator.
Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS