TAIWAN'S POLITICAL SCENE
After Taiwan's Li Dang Hwei 李登輝served two terms as President, the politician mostly likely to take over the rein should be James Soong 宋楚瑜.
Unfortunately, Lien Jun 連戰- Li's VP, had the same ambition & asked James (who was much more popular than Lien), to step aside. James refused & was kicked out of KMT.
James formed his own political party & continued his campaign for presidency. Although James beat Lien Jun at the polls, they split electors' votes, and allowed 陳水扁to win.
To make a long story short, Lien's son recently campaigned for the position of Mayor of Taipei, (which is a stepping stone for a future presidency) but lost to a top surgeon of Taiwan University Hospital, who ran as an independent. KMT lost miserably not only in Taipei but also in all the other major cities.
This changed Taiwan's political landscape – KMT is no longer a force to be reckoned with but an undesirable burden in the eyes of KMT candidates.
Fast forward to 2016, there will be a presidential election. It is almost certain that KMT will not have a suitable candidate, let alone win, nor will Progressive Democratic Party. IF, a big if, James is physically fit, & has the appetite to give it one final try, he might have a chance.
As a background to understanding Taiwan's political scene, I searched & compiled the following videos of 宋楚瑜 for yourreview.
Be fore-warned that each episode is close to 20'!
The story of James Soong:
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Part 4.
Part 5.
Part 6.
宋楚瑜北京清華大學演講 (1Hr 20+')
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