Han Kuo-yu was ousted by voters in Kaohsiung with almost 940 thousands ballots in flavor of the recall of Han as the Mayor. Even though the pro-Han camp has called for supporters to boycott the vote, the vote rate reached 42%. People reacted differently to the result. Regardless, there are lessons to learn from in this whole political drama.

Han’s Weakness - Dishonest, Refuse To Face The Truth

The result is indeed devastating to the pro-Han camp. It is clear that there are more who wanted Han to be recalled than those who supported him. After knowing the result, Han first thanked the 890 thousands residents who voted him as the mayor. And he then thanked those the 1.3 million eligible voters who did not vote for his recall, claiming that they “disagreed with this unfair voting”. His egocentric personality might be able to explain his rapid downfall.

In fact, in normal periodic elections, it is considered to have a high voter turnout when it exceeds 75%. A lower voter turnout is expected for a by-election or recall election. That means there is always that 20% who are politically inactive. Han interpreted all these inactive individuals as being his supporters who boycotted the vote. How egocentric!

There are certainly Han’s supporters in the world who supported his boycott strategy. However, if we compare the ballots Chen Chi-mai received in the 2018 mayoral election and the ballots that supported the recall of Han. It is reasonable to think that a considerable amount of people who voted for Han’s recall actually supported him two years ago.

It is a clear example that shows the Achilles heels of Han’s political style: being dishonest and refusing to face the truth. When he fails and gains no support or acceptance, he continues to defend himself, trying to escape from his consequences and responsibilities. He used the same “boycotting strategy” in both the recall election and the presidential campaign. He is dishonest and it is not a surprise that he only gives false promises. Two years have gone, apart from the exaggerating yet empty slogans like “drilling oil off Itu Aba Island” and “Love Ferris wheel”, what else can you recall? And what did he achieve?

Voters Value Integrity and Diligence

Kaohsiung citizens wished that Han would keep his promises and bring improvements to Kaohsiung, that was how he was elected Mayor with the 890 thousands votes. Yet, after he was elected, he met with people form the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government. Not long after that, he officially announced his presidential bid. In order to prepare for the presidential election, he was absent from various meetings, he even took three months off from the city government. A lot of Taiwanese are very familiar to news about how lazy and responsible Han is. That shows that integrity and diligence of a politician is what voters value.

We do not know if Han’s issues are all caused by his personality. But it can be seen that both his success and his failure lay with his supporters. When the unique circumstances in history created a “Han frenzy”, the increasingly populistic atmosphere around his fans and his “party hero” image had multiplied Han’s hunger for power. Therefore, when running for president, people clamored to make exceptions for him. His confidence was rooted in the procession of his supporters.

Han trusts the power of populism so much. After losing Taiwan presidential race in January by a margin of almost 20 percent, the power of populism, which was the major factor that led to Han’s success. Han’s supporters cut no ice with Han in this recall election. Therefore, politicians should take the influence of their supporters as a pinch of salt.

Regardless, the rise and fall of Han is a very good real-life example for us to study and learn from.

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