There has been a so-called political map in Taiwan's political arena for a long time. Generally speaking, southern Taiwan has always been dominated by the Democratic Progressive Party. Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and other counties and cities have been controlled by the Democratic Progressive Party for more than 20 years. The Democratic Progressive Party members use various political means to control the people, and even borrow heavily to organize various tourist and entertainment activities. To please the people. This has also brought infrastructure construction and social development in southern Taiwan to stagnation and rigidity, and the people have gradually felt the lies of the Democratic Progressive Party. Therefore, in 2018, the Kuomintang’s Han Kuo-yu launched the slogan “Goods go out, people come in, Kaohsiung will make a fortune” and captured the hearts of the people in Kaohsiung, successfully defeated the Democratic Progressive Party and regained the power to govern Kaohsiung City. This is also known as the "Korean Yu Cyclone". Now Tainan's senior Kuomintang lawmaker Hsieh Long-chieh also plans to challenge the mayor of Tainan. As a mortal enemy of the Democratic Progressive Party, what are his chances of winning? Can he cause a "tornado" in Tainan City? Everything starts with his history.
The domineering Xie Longjie
An enemy of the Democratic Progressive Party
Xie Longjie was born in 1961 in Tainan City, Taiwan Province. Because he has been a cadre of the Kuomintang for a long time, many people think that Xie Longjie's family is also a "foreigner" from the mainland, but Xie Longjie is an authentic Taiwanese Hokkien. Therefore, his Hokkien dialect is particularly authentic, and he can engage in verbal exchanges with many Democratic Progressive Party members from Taiwan in front of the camera in Hokkien dialect. He spent his elementary and middle school years in Tainan City. After graduating from Tainan Senior High School, he entered the Management Department of Far East Technical College. Such an academic background may have destined Xie Longjie to be unable to stand out in the Kuomintang, which values academic qualifications and overseas experience throughout his life. In 1998, Xie Longjie served as a district chief (equivalent to the director of the subdistrict office in mainland China) in Anminli, North District, Tainan City, and began his political career.
Xie Longjie came from a grassroots background
As a politician from a grassroots background, Xie Longjie's path to politics was much more bumpy than others. In 2003, he was successfully elected as a Tainan City Councilor. Tainan City, Chen Shui-bian’s hometown, was a dark green area that was “so green that it was full of juice” during Chen Shui-bian’s administration. When the New Party's propaganda vehicle went to Tainan to preach, it was chased and intercepted as soon as it entered Tainan City, and even the vehicle was overturned. It is commendable that Xie Longjie can stand out. He was just 42 years old at the time, which was the best period for a politician to rise in his career. But perhaps Xie Longjie himself did not expect that he would sit on the position of city councilor for nearly twenty years and would never be able to move forward. Although he is a very rare battlefield warrior in the Kuomintang, he still cannot be reused. When Lien Chan was the chairman of the Kuomintang, Xie Longjie was already the spokesperson of the Kuomintang Cultural Communication Committee. According to convention, if you can obtain this position, the next step will inevitably be to move to a higher position within the Kuomintang. However, in 2005, in order to support Ma Ying-jeou in the election, he resolutely resigned from his position as the spokesperson of the KMT Cultural Affairs Bureau. Under Ma Ying-jeou, Xie Longjie showed sufficient combat effectiveness. On September 19, 2006, he participated in the "One Million People Against Chen Shui-bian" movement against corruption. He led the Kuomintang Tainan City Councilors Guo Heyuan, Weng Rongyi, and Hong Yufeng to sit in front of the Tainan City Council. Unexpectedly, on the same day, Xie Longjie and his party had a conflict with Chen Shui-bian's supporters, and the two sides almost caused a catastrophe.
Xie Longjie is full of combat effectiveness
In 2007, Xie Longjie followed the example of the " Poker Card Wanted Order" used by the US military in the Iraq War, and made his own "Green Camp Corruption Playing Card" and distributed it to the outside world. This move embarrassed various figures in the Democratic Progressive Party to the extreme. Liu Yichang, the head of the Tainan City Council caucus of the Democratic Progressive Party, became furious because he was named. He even filled a brown paper bag with dirt and openly threw it at Xie Longjie at the parliament. The deep hatred between Xie Longjie and the Democratic Progressive Party ended with this, and Xie Longjie also became a banner of the Kuomintang in Tainan. Logically speaking, such talents should be reused vigorously. Unexpectedly, the development of Taiwan's political arena always exceeds everyone's expectations. When Ma Ying-jeou became the leader of Taiwan, Xie Longjie did not receive any positions or powers. Ma Ying-jeou only gave him a false title and abandoned him in Tainan. couldn't help but sigh when seeing this. Ma Ying-jeou can appoint Du Zhengsheng, who once formulated the "Taiwan Independence Curriculum" for the Democratic Progressive Party, as the head of educational institutions, and he can use Yang Qiuxing, a former core figure in the green camp, as the so-called "political affairs committee member", but he is unwilling to give any power to the young and powerful Xie Longjie . The root cause of is that even if Xie Longjie is promoted, he will not be able to bring any false fame or halo to Ma Ying-jeou. Therefore, he would rather let outsiders praise him for being broad-minded and taking the initiative to accept people from the green camp, rather than reuse Xie Longjie.
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou has always been lackluster in selecting talents. He would rather use obedient minions than talents with backbone. Ma Ying-jeou is surrounded by mostly flattering villains and glamorous "vases". All generals who are truly capable of fighting are hidden by Ma Ying-jeou. Xie Longjie has been relying on his own hard-earned position as a city councilor to work hard for the Kuomintang in Tainan. He focused on Tainan Mayor Lai Qingde, who oversees the Democratic Progressive Party membership, and repeatedly clashed with Lai Qingde in the parliament. Lai Qingde is known as "Lai Shen" in the Democratic Progressive Party and is the young leader of the "New Trend", the most important faction in the Democratic Progressive Party. Because is a doctor, he has a rigorous and orderly style. Xie Longjie opened fire and attacked Lai Qingde with all his strength. Xie Longjie even used the slogan "I will supervise you for the rest of my life" and tried to fight Lai Qingde to the end. Lai Qingde was often left speechless when asked. In 2014, corruption cases broke out again within the Democratic Progressive Party. Wu Nai-jen and Hong Qichang, the big bosses of the Democratic Progressive Party, were accused of being involved in the corruption case of Taiwan Sugar Company. Lai Qingde took the initiative to defend the two, saying he believed they were innocent. Xie Longjie believed that the two were guilty and made a bet, "If the two are finally found guilty, then Lai Qingde will step down; if the two are not guilty, then Xie Longjie will step down." The final result turned out to be that Wu Nairen was guilty and Hong Qichang was innocent. Xie Longjie claimed to the media: "This is a lose-lose situation for both of us. Both of us should resign." Unexpectedly, Lai Qingde did not dare to accept the offer and said bluntly: "If he wants to resign, he should resign himself."
Xie Longjie is Lai Qingde’s nemesis
Xie Longjie is not only Lai Qingde’s nemesis, but other big bosses in the Democratic Progressive Party also keep a distance from him. It is precisely because of his bold and unrestrained character that Xie Longjie's flag can take root in Tainan. In today's chaotic political arena of blue and green in Taiwan, Xie Longjie is an anomaly. In the eyes of the Kuomintang, he is a controversial figure and a rule-breaker. Once he rises, he will have an impact on the unspoken rules of the Kuomintang based on seniority. Therefore, the Kuomintang authorities have been suppressing his development, and the DPP regards him as a serious problem. In such a situation where blue and green are killing each other, Xie Longjie's support has actually increased. During the 2019 by-election for Taiwan’s legislative body, Hsieh Long-chie faced off against Kuo Kuo-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party in Tainan. Guo Guowen received 62,858 votes, and Xie Longjie received 59,194 votes. The difference was less than 3,000 votes. This gap is the lowest in history. Therefore, Xie Longjie himself already has a certain political foundation, and it is not impossible to further expand the territory.
Xie Longjie and Lai Qingde
Will Xie Longjie be the second Han Guoyu?
Compared with Han Guoyu, Xie Longjie has advantages and disadvantages. Han Guoyu landed in Kaohsiung City by air. He was not from Kaohsiung himself and had no experience working in Kaohsiung. Hanguo-yu simply attracted the local people with the slogan "People come in, goods come out, and Kaohsiung will make a fortune." People believed that Hanguo-yu would change Kaohsiung, which was "old and poor," so they voted for him. Xie Longjie has been operating in Tainan for decades, and coupled with the local sentiment, this gives him a more popular base than Han Guoyu back then. Moreover, Xie Longjie’s eloquence is not inferior to that of Han Guoyu. As long as he comes up with slogans that attract the people, it is not difficult to expand the number of his supporters. Xie Longjie’s weakness lies in his isolation. The reason why Han Guoyu was able to win that year was that he had the full support of Zhongtian News Channel and Wangzhong Group behind him. In 2018, Taiwan's Zhongtian News Channel had been helping Han Guoyu establish a perfect persona and put him on the altar, so Hanguo Yu could successfully create a whirlwind that swept Kaohsiung at that time. Judging from the current situation of Xie Longjie, he does not have such a big advantage in public opinion propaganda. This is one of his shortcomings.
Han Guoyu and Xie Longjie
Another favorable factor for Xie Longjie is that the Democratic Progressive Party has experienced rare internal strife in Tainan City. Although the Democratic Progressive Party has deep roots in Tainan, it is also prone to falling into power struggles and factional strife. Today's Tainan Mayor Huang Weizhe does not belong to a faction. Tsai Ing-wen appointed Huang Weizhe to run for mayor of Tainan in 2018 in order to quell the factional struggle in Tainan at that time. People who currently want to run for mayor of Tainan include public opinion representatives Chen Tingfei, Wang Dingyu, etc., plus Huang Weizhe who is seeking re-election. The Democratic Progressive Party has become a three-legged melee in Tainan. In order to discredit Huang Weizhe, Chen Tingfei and others even released false news and accused Huang Weizhe of being an informant of the Kuomintang security department. After the incident broke out, Huang Weizhe was so angry that he was sent to the hospital. In addition, the Democratic Progressive Party’s strategy for the election of county and city chiefs in Taiwan this year is different from the past. Tsai Ing-wen has canceled the party’s primary elections for most county mayors, and directly selected her appointed candidates. This may cause conflicts. Once someone is unable to resist and chooses to run independently from the DPP, the KMT's chances will increase. However, from a conservative perspective, Tainan is the stronghold of the Democratic Progressive Party after all. Even if Xie Longjie goes all out, the possibility of defeat is still very high. However, if good results and votes can be obtained, then Xie Longjie’s chances of winning as a public opinion representative in the legislative body in 2024 will increase a lot. Overall, the rate of return on this business is pretty good, and it is also an opportunity for Xie Longjie.
The Democratic Progressive Party is in a three-party melee in Tainan
Although the external situation shows signs of relaxation, the biggest shortcoming in Xie Longjie's campaign is none other than the KMT itself. Because Xie Longjie voluntarily announced his participation in the campaign for mayor of Tainan, the KMT party headquarters in Tainan immediately expressed surprise. This shows that there was no prior communication between the two, and the Kuomintang later released news that this election position had been decided by Chen Yixin, a public opinion representative who had just returned from a visit to the United States. Chen Yixin is a professional broker in the Kuomintang who is responsible for colluding with the United States and Britain. He has little political ability and no electoral experience, but he is very popular with Ma Ying-jeou and Zhu Lilun. Whether it is about combat power or combat merit, Chen Yixin and Xie Longjie are not heavyweight opponents at all. However, the filthy and decadent culture within the Kuomintang has a profound impact. In the future, it is very likely that there will be a "Xie Xia Chen Shang" or a recurrence of the 2016 "Pillar Changing" scandal. It can be said that Xie Longjie’s biggest enemy is not only the wolf-like Democratic Progressive Party from outside, but also the antiquated pro-American and oligarch high-level officials in the Kuomintang. Although Xie Longjie is not an active figure on cross-strait issues, he has made unfriendly remarks towards the mainland. But if he can give the Democratic Progressive Party a heavy blow and hit the Democratic Progressive Party where it hurts, it will be beneficial to the political atmosphere in Taiwan, and it will also make people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait feel bad.
Kuomintang sycophant Chen Yixin
The more critical point is that today’s Taiwan needs fighters, someone needs to teach the DPP a lesson, and someone needs to be able to prove that the DPP cannot yet cover the sky with one hand. Politics itself has inertia. Once the DPP rules the island of Taiwan for a long time, the people will gradually become numb, get used to the DPP's ruling methods and believe the DPP's lies.At that time, it will be a thorny issue for both the Kuomintang and the mainland, which uses force to regain Taiwan Island. The Taiwanese people are hostile to the mainland because they were bewitched by the Democratic Progressive Party. Now they are only in the budding and flowering stage. If allows hatred to grow into a towering tree, then it will take more time and energy to deal with it. Cross-strait relations cannot fall into the abyss of rigidity. Someone must take the initiative to break the DPP's curse of lies. Xie Longjie has now stated that he will never accept lobbying or "persuasion" from the KMT, and vows to compete with the DPP. Generally speaking, as long as he uses all his power, even if he cannot defeat the DPP, it will be good to combat the DPP's arrogance. Let us wait and see how the situation develops in the future.
