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PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #2501/01 3231046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191046Z NOV 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7406
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7445
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 1471
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2198
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 6172
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0655
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8733

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002501 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AIT/W, EAP/TC, INR/EAP 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: High Court Rules on Kaohsiung Mayor -- Chen Chun Stays 
 
REF:  A) Taipei 2379 B) Taipei 1565  C) Taipei 1457  D) Taipei 1382 
E)  Taipei 520  F)2006 Taipei 4152  G) 2005 Taipei 3793 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  At 4 p.m. on November 16, the Taiwan High Court, 
Kaohsiung Branch, rejected a District Court ruling which had 
nullified the December 2006 Kaohsiung mayoral election (refs B and 
D).  DPP Mayor Chen Chu will, thus, retain her mayoral seat.  In a 
related suit, the High Court upheld the District Court's earlier 
ruling that neither voter fraud nor ballot manipulation occurred 
during the 2006 Kaohsiung mayoral election (refs B, E and F).  As 
such, decisions in both lawsuits fell against the KMT.  No further 
appeals are allowable in either case.  Mayor Chen Chu expressed 
gratitude for the High Court's decision, claiming justice was 
served.  The defeated KMT former mayoral candidate Huang Chun-ying 
said he respects the court ruling, while KMT presidential candidate 
Ma Ying-jeou suggested the DPP may have pressured the judges to 
overturn the appeal.  Weekend rallies in Kaohsiung by both parties 
were peaceful and muted.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In an announcement that surprised many locals (ref A) on 
November 16, the Taiwan High Court, Kaohsiung Branch, rejected an 
August District Court ruling that nullified the December 2006 
Kaohsiung mayoral election.  In anticipation of the court 
announcement, the Kaohsiung police had deployed 800 police officers 
at the court to prevent a possible riot should the nullification be 
upheld.  Some 200 DPP supporters and a small handful of KMT 
supporters gathered near the police barricades in front of the 
court.  Police removed two DPP supporters from the scene when minor 
scuffles broke out before the announcement.  Another 100-plus DPP 
supporters gathered peacefully in front of City Hall to attend Chen 
Chu's anticipated 5 p.m. press conference.  Upon learning the ruling 
would keep Chen Chu in office, the crowd at the court dispersed 
immediately and without incident.  Supporters at the City Hall 
cheered the announcement and stayed for the press conference, 
presenting flowers to the Mayor. 
 
¶3. (U) DPP Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu expressed gratitude for the High 
Court judges' decision and professed her faith in the election and 
judicial systems.  She stated that justice had finally been 
rendered.  She noted that the final court ruling was more refined 
and precise in interpreting the legal terms "coercive" and 
"intimidating" (ref C).  Chen Chu then urged the KMT to accept the 
decision and her supporters to continue their support for her 
administration as well as for the DPP party candidates in the 
legislative and presidential campaigns.  Only in this way, she said, 
will the DPP candidates win by a large margin and avoid the type of 
lawsuits that have dogged her over the last past year.  DPP 
presidential candidate Frank Hsieh said he was delighted that the 
final verdict averted a possible riot.  DPP vice-presidential 
candidate Su Tseng-chang congratulated Chen Chu and praised the 
judges for a wise and fair verdict, urging the KMT-dominated City 
Council not to boycott Chen Chu's administration.  President Chen 
Shui-bian thanked the judiciary for restoring Chen Chu's reputation, 
confirming the value of Taiwan's democracy, and placing the 
interests of Kaohsiung citizens over politics.  Although a candidate 
has a right to litigate, Chen argued that such cases consume 
enormous social and judicial resources.  He stressed that winning by 
a large margin removes the cause for such cases. 
 
¶4.  (U) The defeated former KMT mayoral candidate Huang Chun-ying 
expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict but said he respected the 
court ruling.  He called on voters in the legislative and 
presidential elections to use their votes to express dissatisfaction 
with the DPP's "notorious" campaign tactics.  He then vowed to help 
KMT candidates in the upcoming 2008 political campaigns.  KMT 
presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou said he respected the final 
verdict, but suggested the legal system may have been manipulated by 
the ruling DPP.  KMT Kaohsiung-elected legislator Lo Shi-hsiung 
charged that the alleged vote-buying scandal (ref F) and the High 
Court ruling were both parts of a DPP conspiracy.  He regretted that 
the judges were not courageous enough to use their official 
positions to guide Taiwan's election culture onto the right track. 
Some KMT legislators suggested that President Chen Shui-bian was 
informed of the final verdict prior to its announcement since he had 
predicted Chen Chu would win the case two days before the verdict 
was announced.  President Chen vigorously denied these insinuations. 
 Both Ma and Lo urged Taiwan voters to use their votes to defeat the 
DPP administration. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Taiwan appeals courts are not limited in their review 
process.  They have the authority to review all evidence and points 
 
TAIPEI 00002501  002 OF 002 
 
 
of law (ref B) involved in a case.  In this case, the High Court 
overturned the District Court's ruling (refs C and D) that Chen 
Chu's election-eve press conference was "coercive and intimidating," 
as specified by the Taiwan Election Law, "forc[ing] voters to vote 
against their will." 
 
¶6. (SBU) National Sun Yat-Sen University Political Science Professor 
Liao Da-chi told AIT/K that she was "stunned" by the court verdict. 
She refused to comment on charges that the judges were "pro-Green." 
Liao noted that while the first ruling had been contradictory, the 
final ruling was stunning in the absence of any new evidence 
controverting the first ruling.  Liao surmised that many Kaohsiung 
voters might be disappointed with the court ruling and turn against 
the DPP.  The KMT, she pointed out, might be able to use the verdict 
to gain voter sympathy. 
 
¶7. (U) The DPP held a rally in Kaohsiung the next day, November 17. 
With Chen Chu's court victory, the planned rally became more of a 
celebration for Chen Chu than a campaign effort for DPP legislative 
candidates.  Police at the scene estimated about three thousand 
people attended the rally, making its scale much smaller than 
expected by DPP organizers.  President Chen, DPP presidential and 
vice presidential candidates, and Premier Chang attended the rally. 
All urged the KMT not to cause "any more chaos" over its defeat in 
the 2006 Kaohsiung mayoral election.  The five DPP candidates 
running in the Kaohsiung legislative elections were presented at the 
rally to solicit support from the crowd. 
 
¶8.  (U) On the same day, the KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou 
inaugurated his Kaohsiung campaign office.  Ma emphasized the 
importance of reviving the economy and promised to bring prosperity 
to the city by opening the three direct links for Kaohsiung.  Ma 
used the occasion to campaign for KMT candidates running in the 
legislative elections and urged voters not to be deceived again by 
the DPP, calling the DPP campaign pledges only "campaign rhetoric." 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment.  The victory of Mayor Chen Chu in both suits 
against her election has increased KMT fears of potential DPP "last 
minute election tactics" in the upcoming January legislative and 
March presidential elections. While many DPP supporters acknowledge 
that Chen Chu has been a weak mayor and that a loss in her court 
case might actually have been a greater boost to DPP campaign 
efforts, the party hopes to find a way to use this victory to 
strengthen its campaign momentum for the upcoming legislative and 
presidential elections.   End Comment. 
 
Thiele 
 
Young