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Democrats set to recapture parliament
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in general, the big picture was against the KMT, the astounding but cannot be measured the pro green new media influence, and some complex intertwined factors contributed to the KMT defeat. President Ma won his presidency with 60% votes in 2008, and he has just 40% votes now. the KMT expected a big defeat, but not the tsunami defeat. the defeat was so devastating for them, it was almost an annihilation.
SG should do the same. 
they have lots of clowns in parliament. that's why they had downsized the parliament to get rid of most of them.
The day when our PAP elites learn to bow humbly like shown in the pictures below, will signal a new dawn for Singapore!
1) Prime Minister Jiang Yi-huah of Taiwan, after the trouncing of the Kuomintang on Saturday. Credit Minshen Lin/Reuters
2) KMT candidate Sean Lien (centre) bowed in defeat in Taipei. Photo credit: BBC
1) Prime Minister Jiang Yi-huah of Taiwan, after the trouncing of the Kuomintang on Saturday. Credit Minshen Lin/Reuters
2) KMT candidate Sean Lien (centre) bowed in defeat in Taipei. Photo credit: BBC
Ma Ying-jeou expected to quit as KMT chairman after election disaster
President's resignation as chairman likely to spark power struggle in party, say analysts
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 30 November, 2014, 2:33pm
UPDATED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 2:50am
Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]
President Ma Ying-jeou at KMT headquarters. Photo: Kyodo
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was expected to resign as chairman of the ruling Kuomintang to take full responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in Saturday's local elections, party officials said yesterday.
Analysts said the move would set off a new power struggle within the party and erode the KMT's chances in the 2016 presidential poll if the infighting persisted.
They also said that although the weekend elections were local contests, both the KMT and Beijing had to be prepared for the results to have some fallout on cross-strait relations.
Taiwan's ruling party suffered its worst electoral setback since coming to power in 1949, losing nine of the 15 cities and counties it used to control, in what analysts saw as voter payback for the Ma team's poor economic and administrative showing.
The defeats prompted Premier Dr Jiang Yi-huah and KMT secretary general Tseng Yung-chuan to quit - with more resignations expected to follow.
Jiang and 81 other cabinet members would step down en masse today, cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said yesterday.
So far, Ma has only apologised for the defeats, stopping short of saying if he will give up the party chairmanship, prompting criticism from KMT mavericks, including some legislators.
But KMT spokesman Charles Chen Yi-hsin told the Post that Ma "will not cling on to the post" and "will not shirk any responsibility he should take", adding: "The chairman will make an important announcement during the KMT central standing committee meeting this Wednesday over the responsibility issue."
He said the committee would discuss steps to take in the future and the outcome of such decisions "would be jointly shouldered by all those present".
Vice-President Wu Den-yih, the first vice-chairman of the KMT, was expected to take over as acting party chief.
George Tsai Wei, a political science professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said Ma's resignation as party leader would not only signal the start of a "lame duck" period for him, but would also set off a fierce power struggle within the party.
"Local faction leaders and KMT stalwarts unhappy with Ma will team up to form a power centre," Tsai said, adding that "a power transition in 2016 would be inevitable" if the KMT could not keep the infighting in check.
The results would also affect the KMT's capacity to represent Taiwan in dealings with the mainland but would have a limited direct impact on cross-strait relations because the elections were essentially local affairs, according to Liu Guoshen , director of Xiamen University's Taiwan Research Institute.
Professor Wu Hsin-hsing, of Ming Chuan University in Taipei, disagreed, saying the election outcomes more or less reflected Taiwanese voters' worries about Ma's cross-strait policy.
"As a lame duck, Ma is certain to slow down his pace in pushing for his cross-strait policy before his term ends in 2016," Wu said.
Tsai also said the outcome would prompt Beijing to reconsider its economic sweetening policy towards Taiwan, given the negative response from the island's voters.
But Liu said the mainland would prefer to consummate outstanding trade deals, including the stalled services trade agreement, before 2016.
Additional reporting by Zhuang Pinghui
Ma to announce KMT chairmanship decision on Wednesday
CNA and Staff Reporter
2014-11-30
A solemn Ma Ying-jeou attends a press conference after the elections, in which the KMT took a severe pasting, Nov. 30. (Photo/Chao Shuang-chieh)
Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, who is also chairman of the ruling Kuomintang, is expected to make a decision soon about his future role in the party, which suffered a crushing defeat in Saturday's local government elections.
Ma will not be reluctant to relinquish the office and "will definitely shoulder his responsibility as he sees fit," party spokesman Charles Chen said.
Ma will announce his plans at the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting on Dec. 3, Chen said.
In his public remarks on the election results Saturday, Ma said he had received the message sent by the people.
The KMT lost in five of the country's six special municipalities and managed to win only five of the other 16 cities and counties in the country in the local government elections.
"Now, my responsibility is to put forth reform plans as soon as possible to answer the people's calls. I will not avoid any responsibility," Ma said.
He urged all KMT candidates, those who won and those who lost, to leave behind their campaign rhetoric and put the country above individual and party interests.
Hearing from my Taiwanese friends that they want to give the KMT a kick up their arses. Ma's administration did not see much progression apparently and the Taiwanese are not happy with being stagnant.
If DPP is to take over, it will be interesting times ahead if they are continue with Ah Bian's stance towards mainland China.
If DPP is to take over, it will be interesting times ahead if they are continue with Ah Bian's stance towards mainland China.
'Lame duck' Ma Ying-jeou's likely exit 'to set off KMT power struggle'
Party chairman expected to resign tomorrow, creating a political vacuum in ruling KMT
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 2:08am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 4:22am
Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (right) sign the order on the cabinet's resignation in Taipei. Photo: EPA
Taiwan's Kuomintang is expected to plunge into intense infighting with yesterday's mass cabinet exits and the likely resignation of its chairman, Ma Ying-jeou.
Premier Dr Jiang Yi-huah and 81 members of his cabinet resigned in the aftermath of the KMT's disastrous showing in the weekend's local polls. The cabinet members will stay on until another premier is sworn in and picks a new team.
Ma will remain the island's president but party officials said he would step down as KMT leader tomorrow to take full responsibility for the party's worst electoral setback since coming to power in 1949.
The office of Vice-President Wu Den-yih said Wu also resigned as the party's first vice-chairman, a move observers said could spare him from becoming a direct target of party strife.
"The [resignation] could also temporarily ease the expected fierce infighting because Wu, who is one of the KMT hopefuls for the 2016 presidential election, would not be directly involved in the fight," said George Tsai Wei, a political science professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
Wu is expected to be acting chairman before a new leader is elected within three months.
Ma apologised to the public and the party for Saturday's massive electoral defeat but did not say whether he would quit as KMT chairman.
President Ma Ying-jeou at KMT headquarters. Photo: Kyodo
The KMT was only able to hold on to six cities and counties in the elections, less than half of the 15 it held before the vote.
Analysts said the defeat left Ma a lame duck and his resignation as chairman would inevitably ignite fierce power struggles within the party.
Debate is already raging among the KMT faithful over who should be the party's next leader. While some KMT legislators, including Wu Yu-sheng and Lu Hsueh-chang, say New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu Li-luan, one of seven KMT vice-chairmen, should take over, others back legislature speaker Wang Jin-pyng - one of Ma's political rivals - and Ma ally Vice-President Wu.
Chu, who was the only municipal mayor from the KMT to win re-election, asked voters to give the KMT a chance, saying the party was "willing to reexamine and reform itself to meet the expectations of the public".
"What the KMT should do now is look at how it can completely reform itself … to give the new generation hope," he said.
Asked if he would run for the KMT chairmanship, Chu said: "I will not evade my responsibility to make the KMT a good party."
Chu was seen as a possible KMT hopeful for the 2016 presidential election, but his chances dimmed with his narrow win at the weekend - he had been expected to win a landslide against Democratic Progressive Party challenger and former premier Yu Shyi-kun.
KMT legislators were also at odds yesterday over who should be the new premier, with Lee Ching-hua seeking party members' endorsement for central bank governor Perng Fai-nan, and Lu Shiow-yen calling former legislator Jaw Shaw-kong to be the next cabinet head.
Observers said that as party chairman Ma had the final say over who from the KMT would run for public office. But his resignation would mean he would no longer be able to use that power to keep unruly KMT members in check.
"If [Ma] resigns, it will mean the ousting of the KMT from the presidential race even before 2016," the outgoing mayor of Taichung, Jason Hu Chih-chiang, warned.
He said Ma should stay on as chairman temporarily until it was decided who should represent the KMT to run for president in 2016.
Beijing expected to maintain policy towards Taiwan despite KMT loss, analysts say
Mainland will continue to seek peaceful development of ties, analysts say
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 3:57am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 3:57am
Andrea Chen [email protected]
Next Tuesday, Chen Deming, the mainland's top negotiator with Taiwan, will visit the island. Photo: CNA
Beijing is unlikely to change its overall policy towards Taiwan despite the strong showing by the island's main opposition party in local elections on the weekend, analysts say.
Beijing would continue to foster economic and cultural ties while abiding by the "one-China" principle, some mainland observers said.
"Beijing's bottom line on the one-China principle has always been very clear," said Yang Lixian, a Taiwan affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "If whoever wins the 2016 presidential election chooses to cross the line, there will be no room for further economic and other dialogue."
Under the principle, both sides agree there is only one China but each has its own interpretation of what one China is.
Liu Guoshen, from Xiamen University's Taiwan Research Institute, said Beijing would not abandon its pursuit of peaceful progress in cross-strait ties.
"The mainland has the ability to dominate the direction of cross-strait relations, and it has also become more confident [in Taiwan affairs]," Liu said. "Nowadays some Democratic Progressive Party candidates are also serious about their relations with the mainland."
Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former de facto US envoy to Taipei, said any changes to the mainland's policy would depend on the actions of the DPP, Central News Agency (CNA) quoted him as saying.
Taiwan-based experts said the landslide defeat of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang would force Beijing to review its economic sweeteners for the island, which had so far only benefited business elites.
"The defeat has made it very clear that the masses do not buy the idea that the service trade pact will help their well-being, no matter how hard both Beijing and Ma's administration sell it," said Wang Hsing-ching, a Taiwan-based commentator.
Li Fei, a colleague of Liu's at Xiamen University, said the DPP would likely soften its tone if it won in 2016. "It has been opposing the trade pact for the sake of opposing a KMT policy. But once it becomes the ruling party the DPP is likely to adopt a different approach," Li said.
The DPP, which won the top races in 13 of 22 cities and counties in Saturday's poll, sent its secretary general, Joseph Wu Chao-hsieh, to Washington yesterday to discuss Taiwan-US ties and the implications of the results, CNA reported. Wu said there were no plans for DPP chairwoman Dr Tsai Ing-wen, widely seen as the party's presidential candidate for 2016, to visit the United States.
Next Tuesday, Chen Deming, the mainland's top negotiator with Taiwan, will visit the island. Speaking to Taiwanese media in Beijing, Chen said he hoped people across the strait could cherish peace and allow relations to continue moving forward "just like one family", CNA reported.
Additional reporting by Zhuang Pinghui
If it were up to me, he would also be President. 
Chiu Yi should be the next KMT chairman and the Premier too.
Kmt lost stronghold taipei because of a united opposition!
It would be a great pity if a university’s program on political strategies does not include some case studies of Taiwan’s political campaigns and elections. Not that Taiwan has a fantastic political or democratic system, but it does provide enriching and interesting perspective on ways which political battles were fought. Whether it was about an honourable contest, hitting below the belt, diverting attention, sending out political signals or messages, framing an opponent, gaining sympathy votes … you have it all (and in a colourful way) in that relatively small piece of land!
While the Taiwanese political culture is very different from ours, there were several lessons which Singaporeans and our opposition camp should probably take note. One such lesson which our opposition parties should be reminded frequently is the danger of diluting the anti-votes against ruling party, especially in constituencies where the odds of winning are even.
In Taiwan’s recent local elections which was held against a backdrop of voters getting very angry with the ruling KMT, the opposition parties were able to demonstrate their ability to cooperate for the purpose of fighting against a common enemy. In the end, their joint efforts and sacrifices were paid off, with the KMT suffered one of its worst electoral defeats!
The opposition parties’ cooperation was probably most profound in the battle for Taipei’s mayoral seat. Apart from being the capital of Taiwan, the Taipei mayorship is often seen as a stepping stone to the Presidential Office. However, Taipei was KMT’s traditionally stronghold; the popular joke was that even the KMT candidate was lying on the floor, he could beat any challenger in a Taipei election. Indeed, in the previous Taipei election (Year 2010), a top-gun from the largest opposition party could only secured 43.8% of the total votes cast.
Hence, given the extremely bitter ground in the local elections held a few days ago, and that the KMT candidate for Taipei was a politically inexperienced son (labelled as a pampered scion) of Taiwan’s former Vice President, one would expect the opposition parties would be very keen to contest for the Taipei municipality.
However, I was very impressed to see major opposition parties were willing to view a popular independent candidate as a much better choice than their own respective party candidates to win the Taipei election! Not only those opposition parties did not contest in Taipei (thus avoided vote dilution), they even endorsed the independent candidate, giving him the opportunity to capture the maximum possible votes. As the world knows by now, that independent candidate won by a respectable margin (57.1% against KMT’s 40.8%).
I am not sure what is the Singapore equivalent for Taipei municipality. Perhaps Tanjong Pagar GRC? I heard the joke was that despite its anchor-candidate went on decades of medical leave, the PAP could still win Tanjong Pagar GRC without a single fight! A question flashed across my mind, if two or more opposition parties decide to contest in this GRC in the next general election, could they perform an honest review among themselves and conclude, “Ah, your candidates stand a better chance than my team to beat the PAP!”?
Given that Singaporeans are as angry (if not more) as the Taiwanese, it is very likely that in the next general election, our opposition parties will be very keen to fight the PAP in every constituency.
My wish is, and I am sure it is also most opposition supporters’ wish, that our opposition parties could work together and fight as a united force against their common enemy – the PAP. There is a need to be realistic, some candidates stand a much better chance than others in beating a PAP team. I know it is an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task for all opposition parties to agree on the best possible team for each constituency.
But, PLEASE, do try hard. It will be a tragedy if the strong teams of two opposition parties ended up fighting in the same constituency!
Celia Lim
It would be a great pity if a university’s program on political strategies does not include some case studies of Taiwan’s political campaigns and elections. Not that Taiwan has a fantastic political or democratic system, but it does provide enriching and interesting perspective on ways which political battles were fought. Whether it was about an honourable contest, hitting below the belt, diverting attention, sending out political signals or messages, framing an opponent, gaining sympathy votes … you have it all (and in a colourful way) in that relatively small piece of land!
While the Taiwanese political culture is very different from ours, there were several lessons which Singaporeans and our opposition camp should probably take note. One such lesson which our opposition parties should be reminded frequently is the danger of diluting the anti-votes against ruling party, especially in constituencies where the odds of winning are even.
In Taiwan’s recent local elections which was held against a backdrop of voters getting very angry with the ruling KMT, the opposition parties were able to demonstrate their ability to cooperate for the purpose of fighting against a common enemy. In the end, their joint efforts and sacrifices were paid off, with the KMT suffered one of its worst electoral defeats!
The opposition parties’ cooperation was probably most profound in the battle for Taipei’s mayoral seat. Apart from being the capital of Taiwan, the Taipei mayorship is often seen as a stepping stone to the Presidential Office. However, Taipei was KMT’s traditionally stronghold; the popular joke was that even the KMT candidate was lying on the floor, he could beat any challenger in a Taipei election. Indeed, in the previous Taipei election (Year 2010), a top-gun from the largest opposition party could only secured 43.8% of the total votes cast.
Hence, given the extremely bitter ground in the local elections held a few days ago, and that the KMT candidate for Taipei was a politically inexperienced son (labelled as a pampered scion) of Taiwan’s former Vice President, one would expect the opposition parties would be very keen to contest for the Taipei municipality.
However, I was very impressed to see major opposition parties were willing to view a popular independent candidate as a much better choice than their own respective party candidates to win the Taipei election! Not only those opposition parties did not contest in Taipei (thus avoided vote dilution), they even endorsed the independent candidate, giving him the opportunity to capture the maximum possible votes. As the world knows by now, that independent candidate won by a respectable margin (57.1% against KMT’s 40.8%).
I am not sure what is the Singapore equivalent for Taipei municipality. Perhaps Tanjong Pagar GRC? I heard the joke was that despite its anchor-candidate went on decades of medical leave, the PAP could still win Tanjong Pagar GRC without a single fight! A question flashed across my mind, if two or more opposition parties decide to contest in this GRC in the next general election, could they perform an honest review among themselves and conclude, “Ah, your candidates stand a better chance than my team to beat the PAP!”?
Given that Singaporeans are as angry (if not more) as the Taiwanese, it is very likely that in the next general election, our opposition parties will be very keen to fight the PAP in every constituency.
My wish is, and I am sure it is also most opposition supporters’ wish, that our opposition parties could work together and fight as a united force against their common enemy – the PAP. There is a need to be realistic, some candidates stand a much better chance than others in beating a PAP team. I know it is an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task for all opposition parties to agree on the best possible team for each constituency.
But, PLEASE, do try hard. It will be a tragedy if the strong teams of two opposition parties ended up fighting in the same constituency!
Celia Lim
Re: Kmt lost stronghold taipei because of a united opposition!
The wind of change has seen many politicians voted out of office in recent years , hope that unforgiving wind blows here in another 1 ½ year
The wind of change has seen many politicians voted out of office in recent years , hope that unforgiving wind blows here in another 1 ½ year
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