In Taiwan, a historical party in search of youth

Hsu Chiao-hsin has no time to waste: the 32-year-old candidate for the Taipei (local) district election is making his way to Zhonglun Market, east of the Taiwanese capital. Wearing black sweatpants and a blue K-Way emblazoned with his name in big red letters, he is surrounded by a team of district employees wearing jumpers and posters bearing his likeness. Some hand out packets of tissues emblazoned with the slogan: “Boldly forward. » A woman armed with a loudspeaker, who is one of his supporters, repeats: “Hello, Hsu Chiao-hsin here to greet you, thank you! thanks ! » He barely pauses to shake a few hands: For the candidate of the historic Kuomintang Party of Taiwan (KMT), in the long campaign for the municipal and county elections in Taiwan on November 26, self-expression is key.

Young, dynamic and considered “clean” (he famously denounced a vote-buying scandal in his party), Hsu Chiao-hsin represents a form of renewal in a struggling party. Nationally, the KMT, which has been in opposition for six years, is increasingly out of touch with voters, especially the youngest, because of its ambivalent stance toward Beijing. The party, whose historic leaders came from China in 1949 after Chiang Kai-shek’s government was defeated by the Communists, still opposes Taiwan independence and favors closer ties with China, at least economically.

The position is increasingly difficult to maintain as Beijing ramps up pressure across the Taiwan Strait with increasingly aggressive military maneuvers and rhetoric. But, in municipal elections, diplomatic issues are less important than local issues and the personality of the candidates. It’s enough to give the KMT a chance to retaliate against the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which controls both the presidency and Taiwan’s parliament. Thanks to its long-established local networks, the KMT controls twelve cities and counties out of twenty-two, and it can win elections in others.

The image of a good manager

The young candidate spent several months before the election period researching his constituency. Under the dictatorship of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, the KMT ruled Taiwan with an iron fist during the economic miracle era of the 1970s and 1980s and maintains an image of good governance. “I have always voted for the KMT, I consider them more serious in managing the economy”, says a 74-year-old man selling anti-wrinkle creams at a small market stall. “DPP, they do a lot of politics, but the main thing is business and national security, it’s not: What do we need to stand up to China? China has banned the import of our agricultural products this summer.He curses.