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Alliance member tops Tainan poll
‘GENERATIONAL CHANGE’?Support for a member of the One
Side, One Country alliance created by Chen Chih-chung surpassed that of a
long-term Tainan lawmaker
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
Greater Tainan Councilor Wang Ding-yu, center,
standing, who won a telephone poll for the Democratic Progressive Party
primaries ahead of the legislative election for Greater Tainan, thanks some of
his supporters yesterday at lunchtime.
Photo: Wang Chun-chung, Taipei Times
A councilor backed by the One Side, One Country alliance could be on the brink
of unseating five-term Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Chun-yee
(李俊毅) in the party’s legislative primaries.
In a telephone poll conducted as part of the primaries for the upcoming
legislative election, Greater Tainan Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) garnered 32.9
percent of support compared with 28.7 percent for Lee, who is not a member of
the alliance.
The telephone polls are expected to continue until April 8 on a region-by-region
basis and the official list of DPP nominees is expected to be unveiled on April
15.
Wang emerged on the national scene following his involvement in a shoving
incident with Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Vice Chairman
Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) in 2008. The two-term councilor has since joined the One
Side, One Country alliance, which was created last year by former president Chen
Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中).
Members of the alliance, who pledge to help each other campaign, played a major
part in Wang’s bid for a legislative seat. Chen Chih-chung and other One Side,
One Country members began stumping for Wang last month.
Wang told cable news station FTV News yesterday that he believed his showing in
the poll marked a “generational change.”
“Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) [who took leave from her post as DPP chairperson] called on
the next generation to take on this country’s burdens. I have heard this call
and I believe that voters have too,” he said. “I will continue to cooperate with
Lee in future.”
However, the results are expected to be bitterly disputed after the two
contenders were involved in allegations of slander earlier this month, with each
accusing the other of spreading lies.
In a harshly worded statement yesterday from Lee, the legislator, who was
originally favored to take the nomination, said he was “unable to give [Wang] my
blessings.”
“Wang … spread large numbers of slanderous letters that the public took to be
fact. It seriously impacted the telephone polls and I condemn the move,” Lee
said. “I insist the law repair my reputation.”
Lee has represented Tainan County’s third district (now Greater Tainan’s fifth
district) since 1996.
Wang’s victory in the polls signifies what the One Side, One Country alliance is
calling its growing clout within the DPP. The alliance is deeply connected with
Chen Shui-bian, and his former office director, Chen Sung-shan (陳淞山), now acts
as the alliance’s convener.
On Tuesday, alliance members held a press conference outlining the alliance’s
policies, including opposition to the so-called “1992 consensus” and the
Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
It announced a list of 18 sitting legislators and legislative--hopefuls under
its banner. DPP Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a former Department of Health
minister and DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) are part of the group.
The One Side, One Country alliance’s next big political fight will likely take
place in Greater Tainan, where Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai’s (賴清德) campaign
chief, Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), is looking to unseat incumbent Legislator Hsu
Tain-tsair (許添財), who is an alliance member.
Hsu, the former mayor of Tainan City, was elected in a recent by-election, but
Lin and Lai say that the DPP should appoint him as a legislator-at-large,
elected on the proportion of the party vote.
Meanwhile, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as Chinese Nationalist
Party (KMT) chairman, oversaw the hand-over ceremony for KMT legislative caucus
leaders and legislative committee chairmen at the party’s headquarters
yesterday.
Ma said that since there were two more legislative sessions left in this term,
he hoped KMT lawmakers would do their very best to pass as many laws as
possible.
The KMT has five caucus leaders and eight legislators responsible for the
legislature’s eight committees.
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