Parties battle in key Taiwan vote

HONG KONG: Three million Taiwanese voters had an opportunity on Saturday to influence the next presidential election in 2004 as they went to the polls in the two largest cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung to elect the respective mayors and city councilors.
Critically at stake is whether or not the longtime opposition Democratic Progressive Party sustains its breakthrough in 2000 when it ended the Kuomintang''s 53-year dominance over the island''s politics, as the DPP leader Chen Shui-bian was elected President.
Chen''s approval rating has currently sunk to 31 per cent, the lowest point since he was inaugurated, as he campaigns energetically for DPP candidates in both cities.
But the incumbent KMT Mayor of the capital city Taipei, the charismatic Ma Ying-jeou, appears all set for a landslide re-election which will boost his chances of becoming the KMT candidate for president in 2004.
Ma first won prominence when he narrowly defeated Chen in 1998, who was then the incumbent Mayor of Taipei.
Many observers anticipate a titanic struggle if Chen and Ma are re-matched in the 2004 presidential race.
Meanwhile the incumbent DPP Mayor of the port city of Kaohsiung, Frank Hsieh, has been damaged by allegations of monetary scandal which he has failed to convincingly disprove. Hsieh only won narrowly in 1998 by some 4,000 votes.
So if the KMT wins both mayoralties, it will mark a major step on its comeback trail. However the split in the formerly united ruling party remains unhealed between the KMT led by former vice-president Lien Chan and the People''s First Party, led by James Soong. Soong ran a close second to Chen in the 2000 presidential race but lost because of the split with Lien.
So observers will be watching closely to see how the three main political parties fare in the races for 52 city councilors in Taipei, and 44 councilors in Kaohsiung.
If the DPP still emerges as the largest single party among three, while still losing in the two races for mayor, it will justify the large amount of time which Chen has dedicated to campaigning in the last few weeks.