VZCZCXRO0383
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #1287 1020816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120816Z APR 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9661
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5048
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0024
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1183
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5136
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9215
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6239

UNCLAS TAIPEI 001287 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
DEPT FOR EAP/TC, INR/EAP 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT:  KMT Wins Taitung Supplemental Magisterial Election 
 
REF: A) 2005 TAIPEI 4986, B) 2006 TAIPEI 0656 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  In Taitung County's April 1, 2006, supplemental 
magisterial election, the KMT candidate Kuang Li-chen defeated Pan 
Green independent candidates Liu Chao-hao and Lai Kun-cheng.  Voter 
turnout was only 38.17 percent. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In her first-ever election, Kuang Li-chen won with 62.51 
percent of total votes.  Liu Chao-hao, a former vice-magistrate who 
ran in the December magisterial election, gained only 28.23 percent 
of votes.  Lai Kun-cheng, the other Pan Green candidate, received 
only 7 percent of the vote.  The KMT win was expected and the 
percentage of votes gained by both blue and green camps reflects the 
traditional base support of the two camps. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Kuang is the ex-wife of Wu Chun-li, Taitung's former 
County Council Speaker and deposed Taitung Magistrate.  When Wu 
Chun-li was elected as Magistrate in the December 2005 3-in-1 
election, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) announced that Wu would 
be deposed because of his corruption conviction during his tenure as 
a KMT County Council member (ref A).  On the eve of Wu's swearing-in 
ceremony on December 19, Kuang deliberately divorced Wu Chun-li to 
bypass the law that forbids elected officials from appointing family 
members to public office.  Although Wu designated Kuang as Vice 
Magistrate at the swearing-in ceremony, MOI refuted the 
appointment's legitimacy, saying Wu had no authority to do so after 
being deposed from the magisterial position. Kuang then registered 
with and was nominated by the KMT as its candidate for the 
supplemental magisterial election (ref B). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou campaigned in Taitung three 
times for Kuang, despite her ex-husband's questionable past and 
corruption conviction (ref A).  Although Liu and Lai are both DPP 
members, both ran as independents, making it awkward for 
high-ranking DPP members to campaign for them. An AIT/K contact in 
Taitung told AIT/K that the campaigning was calm.  The contact 
indicated that locals saw Kuang's victory as proof that people were 
dissatisfied with the way that DPP administration deposed Wu 
Chun-li, even after Wu was elected legitimately to the magisterial 
seat in the December 3-in-1 election (ref B). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Bio of Kuang Li-chen: 
 
Age:  43 years old 
Education:   Graduate of Chung Kuo Institute of Technology College, 
EMBA, National Chung Hsing University 
Previous Position: Director of Wu Chun-li Office; Sales Manager, Yu 
Li Construction Company; Flight Attendant, China Airlines (Taiwan) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) AIT/K has met with the friendly and eloquent Ms. Kuang 
several times during visits to Taitung County.  Local speculation 
has it that Kuang Li-chen, who divorced for reasons of political 
succession, will re-marry her ex-husband Wu Chun-li very soon. 
THIELE 
YOUNG