VZCZCXRO3858
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #0670/01 1350922
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140922Z MAY 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8924
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8269
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 2059
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2675
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 6642
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1244
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9512

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000670 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AIT/W, EAP/TC, INR/EAP 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: VANQUISHED KMT KAOHSIUNG MAYORAL CANDIDATE PLUGS KMT-LED 
CITY REVIVAL 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
(SBU) Summary:  In his May 1 meeting with DDIR, twice-defeated KMT 
Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Huang Chun-ying said he had urged 
President-elect Ma to fulfill his economic pledges to Kaohsiung and 
recommended that the KMT put forward "clean" candidates for upcoming 
2009 local races.  He decried the DPP central government's failure 
to improve substantially Taiwan's north-south economic imbalance and 
underscored his hope that city officials would improve Kaohsiung's 
readiness to take advantage of direct cross-strait links. 
Downplaying the potential of proposed casinos in southern Taiwan, 
Huang suggested the focus should instead be on existing city 
projects.  Huang is optimistic about the KMT's prospects in 
Kaohsiung's key 2010 mayoral race; if Ma's economic policies bring 
signs of a reviving local economy, Huang believes a majority of 
Kaohsiung voters will reward a competent KMT candidate with the 
mayoral seat the KMT last held a decade ago.  End Summary. 
 
Candidate Huang: Winning Some Vindication in 2008 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During his May 1 visit to Kaohsiung, DDIR Wang met with 
Huang Chun-Ying, a long-time KMT stalwart who was narrowly defeated 
in the last two hotly-contested Kaohsiung mayoral races. After 
losing a drawn-out legal battle last fall to overturn the disputed 
results of the most recent mayoral election, Huang returned to his 
post as professor at I-Shou University on the outskirts of 
Kaohsiung.  During the 2008 election season, Huang campaigned 
actively for the KMT in Kaohsiung and gained a measure of 
vindication when the KMT captured three of five Kaohsiung seats in 
the January 2008 Legislative Yuan (LY) election and Ma Ying-Jeou 
surprisingly beat former Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh in Kaohsiung in 
the March 2008 Presidential election.  While attending to his I-Shou 
University teaching duties, Huang is now also advising his local KMT 
colleagues on economic planning, both for Kaohsiung City and 
surrounding Kaohsiung County. 
 
Professor Huang: Setting Stage for 2009 KMT Campaign 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In his meeting with DDIR, Huang gave Ma's proposed cabinet 
high marks, particularly Economic Affairs Minister-designate Yin 
Chi-ming.  Pointing out that he and Yin knew each other well (Huang 
had approved Yin's doctoral thesis), Huang was confident Yin would 
seriously consider Huang's suggestions for Kaohsiung's economic 
development.  While some local KMT supporters complained that Ma's 
cabinet did not include anyone from Kaohsiung, Huang said he 
counseled them not to pressure Ma on this point.  Ma should have the 
scope to build a team that would be ready to work together right 
away.  Huang reiterated that he had no personal ambitions in this 
regard; his main priority was to find the best channel to advise Ma 
about Kaohsiung's economic problems and to encourage Ma to fulfill 
his economic pledges to the city. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On the local political scene, Huang stated that the KMT's 
next major goal was to win the Kaohsiung and Tainan County 
magistrate slots as well as the Tainan City mayoral position in the 
2009 "3-in-1" elections.  Current Kaohsiung County Speaker Hsu 
Fu-sen had expressed an interest in running for Kaohsiung County 
magistrate, Huang mentioned, but his image may not be clean enough. 
KMT Central Policy Committee Director and current Legislative Yuan 
member Lin Yi-shih might also run for that magistrate slot to avenge 
his 2005 loss to DPP incumbent Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing, who has 
now reached his two-term limit.  The KMT's bottom line should be to 
promote candidates with a clean image, Huang reiterated, since those 
candidates had the best potential to win. 
 
Economist Huang: Assessing Impact of Direct Links 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Huang lamented that Kaohsiung's economy had remained 
stagnant over the last eight years.  He said he had urged 
President-elect Ma to make improving the city's economy a high 
priority, given Kaohsiung's strategic location and Kaohsiung 
Harbor's importance to Taiwan's economy.  Despite the DPP's claim 
that it could better cater to southern Taiwan's interests, Huang 
argued, the DPP central government had not committed sufficient 
resources to correcting the north-south economic imbalance. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Huang predicted that direct cross-strait links would 
 
TAIPEI 00000670  002 OF 002 
 
 
impact Kaohsiung immediately because of its developed harbor and 
airport.  He welcomed the prospect of more Chinese mainland tourists 
in Kaohsiung but questioned whether the city was prepared for the 
influx.  Furthermore, the city needed to upgrade its tourist 
attractions to keep tourists in the city longer.  Cruising on the 
refurbished Love River was pleasant enough but hardly enough to 
convince tourists to remain for several days and spend money. 
 
Businessman Huang: Hoping for More Investment in City 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Asked about building casinos in Taiwan to attract 
tourists, Huang replied that Taiwan may have already missed its 
chance with the gaming industry in nearby Macau expanding so 
rapidly.  Nevertheless, Taiwan's offshore Penghu Isles had 
positioned itself as a likely initial venue for casinos, since polls 
suggested that a strong majority of Penghu's residents were in favor 
of them.  Downplaying the potential of casinos in Taiwan, Huang 
suggested that Taiwan take advantage of its sophisticated medical 
technology and focus instead on medical-related tourism. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Huang praised Ma's initiative to persuade Foxconn (Hon 
Hai) Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou to invest in the fledgling 
Kaohsiung Software Park.  Huang mentioned that he had previously 
proposed such an investment to Ma as a means of boosting Kaohsiung's 
economy and that he would personally work to bring the project to 
fruition.  He also highlighted his interest in ensuring the success 
of Kaohsiung's newly-opened Dream Mall, currently Taiwan's largest 
shopping mall.  Noting that Japanese and UK anchor stores had a big 
presence in Dream Mall, Huang hoped U.S. businesses could set up 
anchor stores in the mall.  U.S. companies like Costco were very 
successful in Kaohsiung, he stressed, and there was excellent 
potential for similar ventures in the city, given the close 
people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Taiwan. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Huang worried that Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu was not 
properly coordinating the city's preparations for the 2009 World 
Games.  She was still shuffling key personnel in her city 
government, he stated, and Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) CEO 
Cheng Chi had just resigned.  Huang suggested that the Central 
Government intervene to ensure that the 2009 World Games succeeded 
and Taiwan did not lose face.  Later, during a luncheon for DDIR, 
I-Shou President Fu Shen-li reiterated Huang's concerns, explaining 
that Cheng Chi's resignation reflected the KOC's lack of qualified 
staff and inadequate support from the city. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Although boasting a long resume of government service, 
Huang is an academic at heart, and after coming up short in two 
bruising battles for Kaohsiung mayor, he has expressed no qualms 
about returning to his old professorial perch at I-Shou University. 
At 64 years old, Huang is unlikely to make another run for mayor in 
two years' time, but he believes that the KMT is poised nonetheless 
to recapture Kaohsiung's mayoral seat in 2010 after a 12-year 
hiatus.  If Ma's proposed "10 New Major Construction Projects for 
Kaohsiung" as well as direct cross-strait links begin bearing fruit 
for the city, Huang is confident that local voters will associate 
those gains with the KMT.  In Huang's view, if the KMT then puts 
forward a mayoral candidate with a clean reputation, that candidate 
will best be able to persuade local voters that KMT good governance 
and not DPP ideology is the best tonic for the city's economic woes. 
 End comment. 
 
CASTRO 
 
YOUNG