Candidates vying to represent Kaohsiung in the nation's legislature are banking on grass-roots support and their history of service to the public to win office.
"All politics is local," as the popular saying goes.
Nowhere is that more true than in Kaohsiung.
"My family tree is deeply rooted in the city," said KMT hopeful Chiang Yi-wen (
Like Chiang, the KMT's Yao Kao-chiao (
"Having headed the city's police department for five years, I have helped improve the city's security and many locals have thanked me for my efforts," Yao said.
But political watchers say Yao may face challenges and opposition, as much of Kaohsiung's sex industry is located in his constituency.
In addition, the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) Lo Chi-ming (
The KMT's Tseng Chang-fa (
Compared to the KMT, the DPP has less trouble emphasizing its grass-roots appeal -- making elections in Kaohsiung an easy race for DPP candidates.
Take for example Chu Hsin-yu (
"There are just some `strange' types of groups who will vote for him. That's good enough to get him elected though his poll figures are always low," a DPP official said.
And even though DPP contender Kuo Wen-cheng (郭玟成) has refused to talk to the media, he still enjoys support from voters.
Serving your constituency rather than basking in the public limelight is the most effective way to secure votes, the DPP official said.
One likely winner in Kaohsiung is up-and-coming DPP politician Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), the son of Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), the deputy secretary-general to the president.
Political observers say Chen, who won 98,553 votes three years ago, might be able to help other DPP candidates get elected.
Liao Da-chi (
Liao estimates that roughly 40,000 votes are enough to get elected this year.
Newcomer and doctor Lin Chin-hsin (林進興), who will be running on a DPP ticket, faces a tough battle but believes his record of providing free medical services to the poor will help him win votes.
Of Kaohsiung's 36 candidates, the New Party's Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) and People First Party's Chiu Yi (邱毅) are the two that lack local connections.
"To the advantage of both, they are famous nationally," said Wang Chi-tsong (王啟聰), director of the PFP's Kaohsiung headquarters.
Wang said he hoped campaign rallies featuring Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) will help drum up support for the PFP.
Soong garnered 300 million votes in the city during last year's presidential election.
The party's campaign message is that a vote for a PFP candidate is a vote for Soong.
The PFP's campaign slogan is "Giving Soong a hand again."
Election prospects for the 16 independent candidates running in Kaohsiung are expected to be slim.
During the last legislative election, 81,083 votes came from non-partisan supporters, who mostly voted for Lin Hong-tsung.
Lin has now joined ranks with the KMT, and observers say that he is likely to siphon off votes from independent candidates.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS