The nation saw a dramatic shift in power yesterday after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in legislative elections.
While the south is traditionally considered A DPP stronghold, the party fared poorly in Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County and garnered just one seat in central Taiwan. The party had set a goal of capturing 35 district seats and 15 legislator-at-large seats, but ended up securing only 13 district seats and 14 at-large seats.
While opinion polls predicted a DPP loss, the extent of its defeat came as a surprise to some.
PHOTO: AP
Analysts attributed the party's failure mainly to the new electoral system, which they said put the DPP in an unfavorable position.
Chao Yung-mau (
The DPP, on the other hand, lacked a close connection at the local level, a majority of which is governed by the pan-blue camp, he said.
"Under the new electoral system, there is only one slot available in each constituency. Voters are looking for someone who can give them the best services possible and that costs money," he said.
The second-ballot voting system, in which voters pick the party of their choice, also puts the DPP at a disadvantage, because the biggest party benefits most from the design, Chao said.
"The DPP agreed on the new electoral system because it has its eyes set on two-party politics," he said. "It is well aware that it will take time to get rid of smaller parties and that it has to pay a price during the transitional period."
The game is pretty much set in some constituencies, such as the outlying islands, the east coast and Aboriginal seats, said Hawang Shiow-duan (
Another reason for the DPP's poor showing was public displeasure with the DPP administration's lackluster performance over the past eight years, analysts said.
Hawang said the economy was not as bad as some media outlets had portrayed, while admitting there was big room for improvement. Negative media reporting, however, took its toll and the administration was punished by voters for failing to give the economy a boost.
The DPP's disappointing performance also showed that focusing on identity and ethnic issues no longer worked as effectively as they used to, analysts said.
While the identity issue may stir up the passion of core DPP supporters, it may scare off more moderate voters, said Wu Chin-en (
"Those issues are like a double-edged sword," he said. "They have limited effect when they become the central issue in almost every election."
Tsai Chia-hung (
In other words, more people favor being political neutral and do not want to be identified as Chinese or Taiwanese, he said.
Other factors must also be taken into account, Hawang said. They include the corruption allegations brought against President Chen Shui-bian (
"When the public has higher expectations of the DPP, the party has to pay a price for failing their expectations," Hawang said.
With the KMT's solid victory, analysts foresee a legislature dominated by one big party and backed by big-money donors. As it is hard for smaller parties to put bigger parties in check, the future of partisan politics looks dismal, they said.
"The KMT will be like a dinosaur and the DPP a tiger, with fiercer and uglier fights continuing between the two rival parties," Chao said.
Apart from the legislative elections, the DPP-initiated referendum to reclaim the KMT's stolen assets also failed. Analysts were divided on the impact the failed referendum would have on the party.
Hawang said that that the defeat was a significant blow to the DPP, which seems to have exhausted all possible means to achieve its goal of retrieving the stolen assets.
As a minority in the legislature, Hawang said the DPP would continue to face a KMT boycott on any attempt to recover the assets.
The DPP will still face the same dilemma even if its presidential candidate, Frank Hsieh (
Wu dismissed the result of the referendum as insignificant because it was part of the election campaign strategy and the topic was a "non-issue."
Legislation is required to legally reclaim the KMT's improperly acquired assets, Wu said, and it is highly unlikely the DPP would be able to enact a law in a KMT-dominated legislature.
Wu, however, admitted that a successful referendum could have boosted the momentum for another referendum initiated by the DPP on applying to join the UN using the name Taiwan that will be held concurrently with the presidential election.
Chao said the March referendum would bear more significance and is the decisive battle.
With less than 70 days left before the presidential election, analysts said the DPP may adjust its campaign strategy to pull off a better showing in March.
Wu said Hsieh would play a more dominant role in mapping out the party's campaign strategy in the run-up to the March poll.
Chao agreed, saying that Chen, who resigned last night as DPP chairman, would be under tremendous pressure and would have to let Hsieh play a more decisive role in the race.
Chao said he did not think Chen need to to bear responsibility for the legislative defeat, but said Hsieh could face severe criticism from party members for distancing himself from the legislative polls.
The DPP would face a tougher battle ahead if the party were split and Hsieh lost the backing of his party members, Chao said.
As the presidential election looms, it is now up to voters to decide whether they want to see the country ruled by a single party holding both the executive and legislative reins, or a split government where the administration is constantly at odds with the legislature.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56