Taipei, Nov. 26 (CNA) Led by President Ma Ying-jeou, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) made efforts Friday in campaign rallies ahead of Saturday's five municipality elections, trying to pull off comeback wins in the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The port city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second largest city, and Tainan have been strongholds of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose mayoral candidates were favored to win in both these municipalities.
President Ma, who doubles as the KMT Chairman, admitted Friday when he campaigned for Kuo Tien-tasi, the party's candidate in Tainan, that Kuo "has been in a difficult situation, " but Ma urged voters to support the former educator born in Tainan.
The mayoral race in Tainan has been given less media attention than those in the other four constituencies because it is widely seen as a shoo-in for DPP candidate William Lai, a well-known legislator.
The ruling party also faces a tough battle in Kaohsiung, where incumbent DPP Mayor Chen Chu is the clear front-runner over KMT's Huang Chao-shun and incumbent Kaohsiung County magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing, who lost to Chen in the DPP primary and entered the race as an independent.
Less than 24 hours before the electorates head to the voting booths, Huang, who has trailed in the polls, still showed concerns that her supporters will engage in "strategic voting" and opt for Yang, who is seen as having better chances of beating Chen.
Yang is a supporter of Taiwan independence, Huang said Friday, adding that although Yang ran as an independent, his ideology has always been a lot different than that of the KMT.
But Yang received a boost Friday night when James Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) , endorsed him at the election eve rally. The PFP and the KMT were considered a "pan-blue alliance" which supports reconciliation and cooperation with China.
The greater Kaohsiung area is considered a DPP stronghold, although its advantage in the past has been in Kaohsiung County, with voters in Kaohsiung City more evenly divided. Though the DPP has held Kaohsiung City for 12 years, its wins in 1998, 2002 and 2006 were all achieved with relatively narrow margins.
Unlike the situation on the national level, the DPP is not viewed exactly an opposition party in Tainan City and County. The area, with a combined population of more than 2.7 million, has long been a DPP stronghold.
Tainan County, which is heavily populated by farmers and fishermen, has been held by the DPP since 1993 and Tainan City since 1997.
In 2004, when the DPP's Chen Shui-bian was seeking reelection as president, he gained 64.8 percent of the votes in his home county of Tainan and 57.8 percent in Tainan City. His got 50.11 percent of the national vote.
Although by 2008 the DPP's popularity had plummeted nationally due to corruption charges against Chen, the party's support in the region remained strong.
The DPP lost the presidential election that year, but its showing in Tainan County was 56.2 percent and in Tainan City 49.3 percent, compared with a national showing of 41.55 percent.
It is this kind of unwavering support that Lai, the DPP candidate, a 51-year-old medical doctor who has served as a legislator representing Tainan City since 1999, is counting on come election time. (By Chris Wang) enditem/jc