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| Mayor’s Race Could Alter Balance of Political Power in Taiwan | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| TAIPEI, Taiwan — A doctor and political novice is favored to win Taipei’s mayoral election on Saturday, one of many races in which Taiwan’s governing party faces the prospect of its most serious setback in years. | TAIPEI, Taiwan — A doctor and political novice is favored to win Taipei’s mayoral election on Saturday, one of many races in which Taiwan’s governing party faces the prospect of its most serious setback in years. |
| A victory for the blunt-talking, 55-year-old physician, Ko Wen-je, would be a sharp defeat for the governing party in a city long considered its stronghold, and in a job that often becomes a springboard to the presidency. | A victory for the blunt-talking, 55-year-old physician, Ko Wen-je, would be a sharp defeat for the governing party in a city long considered its stronghold, and in a job that often becomes a springboard to the presidency. |
| The local elections come halfway through President Ma Ying-jeou’s final term as president, during a year in which his governing Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist Party, has faced large-scale protests over its pursuit of closer ties with China, and food-safety scandals that have inflamed antigovernment anger. | The local elections come halfway through President Ma Ying-jeou’s final term as president, during a year in which his governing Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist Party, has faced large-scale protests over its pursuit of closer ties with China, and food-safety scandals that have inflamed antigovernment anger. |
| In the race for Taipei mayor, the governing party’s candidate, Sean Lien, is a 44-year-old former investment banker whose father, Lien Chan, served as Taiwan’s premier and vice president. While his connections helped him win the party’s nomination, they have done little to bolster his standing against Mr. Ko. | In the race for Taipei mayor, the governing party’s candidate, Sean Lien, is a 44-year-old former investment banker whose father, Lien Chan, served as Taiwan’s premier and vice president. While his connections helped him win the party’s nomination, they have done little to bolster his standing against Mr. Ko. |
| Mr. Ko is running as an independent, though his political views generally align with the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition party. The D.P.P. is not fielding a candidate in the race and has thrown its support behind him. His campaign has focused on encouraging civic participation and trying to transcend the divide between the Kuomintang and those who favor closer ties with China, and the D.P.P. and others who support an independent Taiwan. | Mr. Ko is running as an independent, though his political views generally align with the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition party. The D.P.P. is not fielding a candidate in the race and has thrown its support behind him. His campaign has focused on encouraging civic participation and trying to transcend the divide between the Kuomintang and those who favor closer ties with China, and the D.P.P. and others who support an independent Taiwan. |
| Accentuating his image as an outsider, Mr. Ko eschews a suit and tie for a collared shirt in most campaign appearances. His inexperience in government led many to believe that his lead in opinion polls would eventually evaporate in the face of the Kuomintang’s well-developed party apparatus. | Accentuating his image as an outsider, Mr. Ko eschews a suit and tie for a collared shirt in most campaign appearances. His inexperience in government led many to believe that his lead in opinion polls would eventually evaporate in the face of the Kuomintang’s well-developed party apparatus. |
| But Mr. Lien, who also lacks government experience, has failed to capitalize on his opponent’s weaknesses, despite his political pedigree. | But Mr. Lien, who also lacks government experience, has failed to capitalize on his opponent’s weaknesses, despite his political pedigree. |
| He has emphasized economic themes, touting his investing experience and work as chairman of the company that manages Taipei’s smartcard system for public transit and other services. But his family connections and personal wealth have hurt him at a time when the public is increasingly concerned about the gap between rich and poor, said Lin Jih-wen, a political scientist at Academia Sinica, a state-funded research institute in Taipei. | He has emphasized economic themes, touting his investing experience and work as chairman of the company that manages Taipei’s smartcard system for public transit and other services. But his family connections and personal wealth have hurt him at a time when the public is increasingly concerned about the gap between rich and poor, said Lin Jih-wen, a political scientist at Academia Sinica, a state-funded research institute in Taipei. |
| “He’s too young, too inexperienced and doesn’t seem to understand the ordinary lives of people in Taipei,” Mr. Lin said. | “He’s too young, too inexperienced and doesn’t seem to understand the ordinary lives of people in Taipei,” Mr. Lin said. |
| Elections in Taiwan can be difficult to predict, with opinion polls sometimes overstating the support for the D.P.P. and other pro-independence parties. Nonetheless, Mr. Ko has consistently maintained a double-digit lead. | Elections in Taiwan can be difficult to predict, with opinion polls sometimes overstating the support for the D.P.P. and other pro-independence parties. Nonetheless, Mr. Ko has consistently maintained a double-digit lead. |
| The race has implications beyond Taipei, Taiwan’s capital and largest city. Each of the last three presidents has previously served as mayor of Taipei, and the election has included national concerns, especially Taiwan’s relationship with China, which claims Taiwan as its own. | The race has implications beyond Taipei, Taiwan’s capital and largest city. Each of the last three presidents has previously served as mayor of Taipei, and the election has included national concerns, especially Taiwan’s relationship with China, which claims Taiwan as its own. |
| This spring, demonstrators opposed to the Kuomintang’s support of a free-trade deal with China, which critics said would have given China greater influence over Taiwan’s economy, took to the streets and occupied the national legislature for more than three weeks. | This spring, demonstrators opposed to the Kuomintang’s support of a free-trade deal with China, which critics said would have given China greater influence over Taiwan’s economy, took to the streets and occupied the national legislature for more than three weeks. |
| Mr. Lien, who met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last year, has been attacked by the opposition for favoring stronger ties with China. | Mr. Lien, who met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last year, has been attacked by the opposition for favoring stronger ties with China. |
| “Lien is simply unable to convince that he is anything but what he is, a privileged princeling from one of Taiwan’s richest and politically powerful families,” said Jonathan Sullivan, a China scholar at the University of Nottingham. “Lien’s halfhearted attempts to appear down to earth have been followed by gaffes revealing his status and thinking.” | “Lien is simply unable to convince that he is anything but what he is, a privileged princeling from one of Taiwan’s richest and politically powerful families,” said Jonathan Sullivan, a China scholar at the University of Nottingham. “Lien’s halfhearted attempts to appear down to earth have been followed by gaffes revealing his status and thinking.” |
| After coming under repeated attack for his family’s wealth, Mr. Lien responded in a campaign brochure that the Buddha “was a prince who enlightened people.” While his point was that family background did not predetermine policy, his comparing himself to the Buddha was seen as grandiose. | After coming under repeated attack for his family’s wealth, Mr. Lien responded in a campaign brochure that the Buddha “was a prince who enlightened people.” While his point was that family background did not predetermine policy, his comparing himself to the Buddha was seen as grandiose. |
| Mr. Ko is not immune to similar criticism. As chairman of National Taiwan University Hospital’s traumatology department, he too is a member of Taiwan’s elite. And he has been gaffe-prone in campaign appearances, notably when he said one young female candidate’s appearance made her better suited to working as a receptionist. He later apologized for the comment. | |
| “Although he is not a seasoned politician, Ko has deftly rolled with the punches and has shown an innate skill in turning Lien’s attacks against himself,” Mr. Sullivan said. | “Although he is not a seasoned politician, Ko has deftly rolled with the punches and has shown an innate skill in turning Lien’s attacks against himself,” Mr. Sullivan said. |
| During a televised debate, when asked whether a candidate who had pro-independence leanings could serve as a high-level state official, Mr. Ko responded that it was the “cross-strait compradors,” the Kuomintang officials pursuing closer ties with China, whose patriotism should be questioned. |