Polls and other comments

@FormosaNation tweeted some TVBS polls showing Tsai with a strong lead over Chu and most importantly, with leads among independent voters (center image) and in the north (second from bottom), the traditional geographic stronghold of the KMT. Chu's poll numbers are not significantly better than former reactionary KMT candidate Hung Hsiu-chu. Things are so bad that shockingly even Kinmen, long a KMT fief, is in play this election. Solidarity has a great piece on the China Policy Institute blog that discusses the legislative election.

Speaking of Hung, I've been chatting with my students, asking them who their parents are going to vote for. Getting lots of this from students whose parents are longtime Blue voters: "My parents aren't going to vote, they say." While many those will in the end still vote, it looks like some significant number of blue voters are simply going to ride this one out to punish the KMT.

The KMT paid off Miaoli's county's debts (described here) with a $2 billion NT dump of taxpayer cash into the county coffers. The massive debts of Miaoli, created during years of KMT administration, were preventing the government from paying its employees and carrying out the all-important patronage construction projects. Had this been done back in the first few months of the year when this story first started making the national news, then the KMT could legitimately say it was saving the county and taking care of its large Hakka voting base in Miaoli. But at this point, with the election three weeks away, it looks like vote buying with taxpayer money, done only for the sake of the election, and not because the KMT is taking care of its own (Miaoli is traditionally a KMT stronghold). This cynical treatment of its own supporters, exemplified by Vice Presidential candidate Jennifer Wang's speculating on military housing, is one reason the KMT is in so much trouble this election cycle.

The KMT news organ reports that the government is mulling lifting the ban on 830 agricultural items from China...

According to media reports, Taiwan will consider lifting the ban on the importation of 830 types of agricultural products from the Mainland if the following conditions are met. First, Taiwan does not grow the products and there is great demand for said products. Second, importing such products will not impact the livelihood of Taiwan farmers. Third, importing such products brings concrete benefits.

It is believed that products imported from foreign countries, such as chocolate, apples, cherries, avocadoes, grapefruit, rambutan, pear scion, and wheat, may be allowed to be imported from the Mainland. However, Taiwan will not lift the ban on the importation of politically sensitive products, such as rice and peanuts, from the Mainland.

This is a food safety issue which the DPP can capitalize on.
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