Electoral Battle Between Grassroots Man and Wealthy Woman

 Electoral Battle Between Grassroots Man and Wealthy Woman

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

October 16, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu began to take official leave, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the 2020 presidential election. As his recent ratings in opinion polls have been lagging behind, with Tsai Ing-wen leading, some aren’t betting on his electoral prospects. Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je has predicted that the 2020 election has already ended, with Tsai Ing-wen winning without a fight. The fact of the matter is electoral campaigns could fluctuate in a moment, not to mention that Han Kuo-yu hithertofore has not become a full-time candidate, thus the electoral battle has not even begun; how could anybody conclude right now that the race had ended?

Tsai Ing-wen is running for president for the third time, having served as president for three and a half years. On the other hand, Han Kuo-yu is not only running for president for the first time, and from his downtrodden days, to his being elected as Kaohsiung City Mayor, to the present, it has not even been a year. However, Han Kuo-yu came from a shabby village of military housing; after relinquishing his seat in the Legislative Yuan, he was downtrodden for 17 years, leading a life at the bottom stratum of society, having thus cultivated a style of a man of the grassroots, easy to get along with the masses as brothers.

Tsai Ing-wen was born with a silver spoon in her mouth; she graduated from National Taiwan University Law School, earned a master’s degree from an Ivy League university in the US, and earned a doctor’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. As a national leader, Tsai Ing-wen should have stood at an altitude with macro-thinking, planning fundamental policies based on considerations of the big picture. However, the Tsai government, based on electoral considerations, has been catering to pleasing the public, leaving many flaws.

Han Kuo-yu’s style of bluntness is beneficial to his role as a challenger. He can shake off his yoke and bondage, firing with full power, and no taboos, attacking Tsai Ing-wen’s record of performance, saying if re-elected, she would continue her maladministration, or even worse, thus it would create serious damage. His direct and sharp rhetoric could be pleasing to many ears, and resonate with the public. In the future, Tsai, in facing him will have a hard time This is also a great advantage as a challenger to the incumbent.

It may be foreseen that after the start of the all-out electoral battle, the offensive and defensive will inevitably trade places. For the DPP, its game plan of "winning the presidency and a majority of seats in the parliament" was calculated too early. After the bugle of counterattack is sounded on the part of Han Kuo-yu, the electoral prospects will be reversed, with Han Kuo-yu’s fortunes bouncing back from the bottom. On the other hand, Tsai Ing-wen will be pushed back to a defensive position, trying to explain everything; it is difficult to guarantee that she will not wither after fully blooming.

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