KMT's Lu Hsiu-yan, who had led in every poll. defeated Johnny Chiang to clinch the KMT mayoral candidacy for Taichung (Yahoo in Chinese). Chiang elected not to contest the outcome. Lu has in fact invited Chiang to run her campaign, a nice display of unity. So different from elsewhere in the KMT.
This means that in Taichung, the nation's second largest city, the KMT has a viable candidate with full party support. In Chiayi, by contrast, it is split. In Taoyuan the KMT is running a princeling. In Hualien, long a KMT fief, the wife of the current mayor. In Taipei the picture has not yet cleared, but with the Deep Blue factions in control of the KMT and voting on ideological purity, it might not be able to find a candidate that can win over centrist and younger voters.
As I've already noted several times, because of Taichung's importance, if the KMT wins the Taichung election, the new mayor will automatically become a figure of national stature, since the KMT has few such politicians and controls only New Taipei City.
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And the KMT should take Taichung easily.
ReplyDeleteFuture KMT presidential candidate.........
ReplyDeleteLin Chia-Lung not getting reelected, I take it?