Understanding Taiwan’s Presidential Election through People

Understanding Taiwan’s Presidential Election through People. March. 12, 2004 23:48. by Yoo-Sung Hwang yshwang@donga.com.

With two presidential candidates running neck and neck in Taiwan, their wives are also heating up the support. Incumbent President Chen Shui-bian’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, 53, and Kuomingtang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan’s wife, Fang Yu, 60, are indeed the number one aides in campaigning and strategy planning.

Wu Shu-chen, The First Lady in a Wheelchair

“Let us once again enjoy the glorious days of true politics as we did four years ago.” At rallies and on television, Mrs. Wu appeals to the public to once again choose “Chen Shui-bian, the Son of Taiwan” as they did at the 2000 presidential election.

Hidden behind the victory of President Chen is the moving love story of Mrs. Chen. Her father a dentist, she was brought up in a rich family. Despite opposition from her parents, however, she married a poor but smart man who was also an alumnus of the Department of Law at National Taiwan University.

In November 1985, Mrs. Chen was hit by a truck in Tainan County when she went there to help her husband campaign for the county magistrate. She ended up becoming seriously disabled with the lower half of her body being paralyzed. It turned out that the accident was an attack from the opposition. In spite of her physical difficulties, she supported Mr. Chen when he was imprisoned for criticizing the government.

The tearful story of Mrs. Chen is expected to contribute substantially in gaining votes from women as it did during the presidential election in 2000. The first lady is also well known for “wheelchair diplomacy.” On behalf of her husband who cannot freely visit other countries due to the opposition of the Chinese government, Mrs. Chen visited the United States and Europe and was praised to have made Taiwan “reappear” in the international arena. One thing to take note at this year’s election, though, is the rumor of her intervention in promotion of government officials and involvement in speculative stock investment.

Fang Yu, A Traditional Ideal Woman

As always, upbeat songs echo through the microphone at the KMT rally. The songs were sung and recorded by “Sound of Love Choir,” a women’s choir organized by Mrs. Lien. The songs of the week are changed regularly. In November 2003, Mrs. Lien received a round of applause at a party in Tainan County, the stronghold of the ruling party, after singing in the Taiwanese dialect.

Mrs. Lien believes that “Women should stay in the shadows of men.” Rather than making appearance at rallies, she supports her husband by forming the women’s choir, setting up a personal website, and helping the poor.

The wife of KMT Chairman is a beauty who even won the third Miss Taiwan beauty pageant. It was during her visit to the United States as Miss Taiwan when she met Lien, who was a student at the time and also her escort. She even taught Chinese literature at Tungwu University, a prestigious university in Taipei.

Recently, however, she had to addresse the media to correct a rumor started by hostile propaganda of the Democratic Progressive Party that “Mrs. Lien is abused by her husband.”