The KMT released its party list today and the most notable thing is not so much the list itself but how it was released. The KMT did a brilliant job of manipulating the media to receive the maximum positive coverage from this list.
Recall that there was quite a bit of negative publicity over the DPP’s list. People both inside and outside the party were unhappy, complaining that the DPP’s list was dominated by its factions and did not include any new faces or representatives of underprivileged groups. The KMT based its strategy entirely on this lingering dissatisfaction. Yesterday, the KMT first leaked news that its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranked candidates would represent underprivileged groups. Because of this, today’s news cycle was entirely dominated by the spin that the KMT, unlike the DPP, cares about the underprivileged. By the time the rest of the list came out, the story was already firmly established. It really doesn’t matter who else is on the list; the narrative is set. However, the KMT reinforced the narrative by emphasizing the number of new faces on the list. Their list, they stress, is not a safety valve for current legislators who lost the primary or fear they can’t be re-elected (unlike the DPP’s list).
Of course, this is mostly good packaging. The KMT has two activists Wang Yu-min and Yang Yu-hsin, at #2 and #4. #3 (Tseng Chu-wei) is a scholar, which is not quite the same thing. If you just want to compare activists, the DPP has Chen Chieh-ru 陳節如 and Wu Yi-chen 吳宜臻 at #1 and #3. The KMT does have people with scholarly backgrounds at #3, #7, #12, and #18. While the general public apparently prefers (honest and new!) scholars to (dirty and familiar!) politicians, I’m not so sure. I don’t think its necessarily a good thing for someone who has never asked a voter for support to be making laws. If you want expertise in the legislature, invite them. They’ll come and testify. Better yet, beef up the legislative staff, parliamentary library, and other support systems.
Getting back to the KMT’s list, there are a few names I’m familiar with. That’s right, there are a few old-fashioned politicians on the list. Shocking! One interesting thing is that the KMT seems determined to keep some representation in the south. Speaker Wang (#1) is from Kaohsiung. Su Ching-chuan (#11) is from Pingtung. He is listed as a doctor, but he’s a politician. He ran for legislator in 2008 and lost to Pan Meng-an 潘孟安. Chen Shu-hui (#18) is from Tainan. She was the KMT’s candidate in the by-election against Hsu Tain-tsair 許添財. Her husband is former legislator Lin Nan-sheng 林南生. The KMT’s list doesn’t have anyone from Chiayi or Yunlin, but they still have hopes of winning a district seat or two in those areas. I suppose that’s not entirely accurate. The list does have a few more southerners down further on the list who have no hope of winning (#20, 32, 33).
The other interesting name that jumps out at me is Chi Kuo-tung (#15), who is from Taichung County’s Black Faction. One of the most interesting recent trends has been the shift of Taichung County toward the DPP. One of the subtexts of this is that Taichung could be following the Chiayi model, in which a disgruntled local faction switches sides and completely shifts the partisan balance of power in the county. The Black Faction certainly is disgruntled and demoralized right now. They didn’t get any consideration last year for the mayoral nomination, they no longer have township mayors (which they dominated), and the Red Faction has much better ties with both the central government and the Taichung City government. So it might be quite significant that the KMT is using one of its precious party list slots for a Black Faction leader. Of course, this also keeps Chi’s home district open for everyone’s favorite legislator, Yen Ching-piao 顏清標. Yen is also a core Black Faction politician, but as an independent, he, of course, cannot go on the KMT party list. (Also, if they put one of Taiwan’s most famous gangsters on the party list, it might undermine the narrative that they care about the underprivileged. Better to yield a district seat to him.)
There are a few notable names missing from the list. Chu Feng-chih 朱鳳芝, Cheng Chin-ling 鄭金玲, and Chiang Hsiao-yen 蔣孝嚴 are incumbents who were rumored to be angling for spots on the list. Wu Ching-chih 吳清池 appears at #21, which is essentially useless. There is certainly a possibility that Chu (Taoyuan 5) and Cheng (Taoyuan 3) might run as independents. These are both very, very blue districts, though there is a chance that the DPP could retain Taoyuan 3, which it miraculously won in a by-election, if Cheng splits the blue vote. There could also be a backlash in Wu’s home district (New Taipei 7), where the race is very tight.
| Name | Comments (from CNA article) | |
| 1 | 王金平 | 立法院長 |
| 2 | 王育敏 | 兒童福利聯盟基金會執行長 |
| 3 | 曾巨威 | 財稅學者 |
| 4 | 楊玉欣 | 台灣弱勢病患權益促進會祕書長 |
| 5 | 邱文彥 | 環保署副署長 |
| 6 | 洪秀柱 | 立委 |
| 7 | 吳育仁 | 中正大學勞關系教授 |
| 8 | 潘維剛 | 立委 |
| 9 | 陳鎮湘 | 前國防大學校長 |
| 10 | 李貴敏 | 律師 |
| 11 | 蘇清泉 | 東港安泰醫院院長 |
| 12 | 陳碧涵 | 國立台灣戲曲學院教授 |
| 13 | 詹凱臣 | 僑務委員 |
| 14 | 徐少萍 | 立委 |
| 15 | 紀國棟 | 立委 |
| 16 | 陳淑慧 | 立委 |
| 17 | 尹啟銘 | 政務委員 |
| 18 | 詹滿容 | 學者 |
| 19 | 楊志良 | 前衛生署長 |
| 20 | 許宇甄 | 國民黨雲林縣黨部副主委 |
| 21 | 吳清池 | |
| 22 | 王美只 | |
| 23 | 林萬福 | |
| 24 | 張瓊玲 | |
| 25 | 簡明哲 | |
| 26 | 賴素如 | |
| 27 | 徐德馨 | |
| 28 | 華真 | |
| 29 | 李德維 | |
| 30 | 邱素蘭 | |
| 31 | 詹澈 | |
| 32 | 吳陳瓊秋 | |
| 33 | 吳威志 | |
| 34 | 顏嬋娟 |
Tags: party list
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