Thu, Jul 07, 2005 page3

• Miaoli powerbroker angers both camps

  • By Jewel Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Politicians from the People First Party (PFP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday expressed irritation at the possible endorsement of a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate by Miaoli County Commissioner Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬) for the year-end county commissioner elections.

  Responding to reports that the non-aligned Fu was thinking of collaborating with the DPP, PFP Legislator Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) -- one of the people Fu has identified as a possible DPP candidate -- said yesterday that he would be prepared to run for county commissioner if the PFP did not nominate him. But he said he would only run as an independent, and not for the DPP.

  Complaints

  Hsu said that many of Fu's supporters as well as his own are pan-blue-camp stalwarts who had complained to him about Fu's decision on Tuesday.

  "If I suddenly change flags from the PFP to the DPP, how could our supporters accept this? How could they vote for me?" Hsu asked.

  Fu yesterday said that his cooperation with the DPP followed from a promise the party had made that it would nominate a Hakka candidate, and that he was determined to do what he could to ensure the county's next commissioner would be a Hakka.

  Ethnic Rivalry

  In contrast, Fu said, the candidate nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻), is a Hoklo and had little understanding of Hakka affairs.

  Liu yesterday called Fu a troublemaker and said he was disturbing the harmony between ethnic groups. For his part, Fu said that the KMT had expressed little sincerity about cooperating with him.

  About 60 percent of people in Miaoli County are Hakka. It is also the county with the largest Hakka population.

  Fu said that there were only two people he would consider endorsing in the year-end elections given that Hsu was not willing to run for the DPP. One is the director of the county government's Bureau of Public Works, Han Hong-en (韓鴻恩), and the other is Miaoli City Mayor Chiu Bing-kun (邱炳坤). Both men are Hakka.

  "But the final say on the candidate rests with the DPP," Fu said.

  Fu made no mention of one other possible candidate mentioned by the DPP on Tuesday, Miaoli Deputy County Commissioner Chen Hsiu-lung (陳秀龍), also a Hakka.

  But pan-blue camp members were not the only people unhappy about the pending collaboration.

  TSU legislative caucus whip Ho Min-hao (何敏豪) yesterday registered strong dissatisfaction over the plan.

  "The DPP often says that the pan-green camp should work together and so on, but we still haven't seen the DPP's sincerity in its actions," Ho said.

  disappointed

  The probable TSU candidate for the Keelung mayoral election, Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), said he was disappointed to see that the DPP was teaming up with people from the PFP so quickly, but shutting the door on cooperation with the TSU.

  "Ironically, [pursuing] its own interest, the DPP has been quick to bring about cooperation with Fu, who represents PFP power, but is turning a cold shoulder to the request of the TSU that the DPP always call it its brother," he said.
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