???? Who are Taiwan's presidential candidates?

With Taiwan's presidential election just around the corner, the daily fluctuations in poll numbers add an extra layer of anticipation. Curious about the candidates in the running? Kwangyin Liu 劉光瑩 , CommonWealth English 天下雜誌英文網

Taiwan presidential candidate Hou: The first thing I want to do is take away the fear

The Kuomintang nominee in Taiwan’s presidential race Hou Yu-ih opens up with CommonWealth Magazine. He believes Taiwan needs to improve relations with China. How does he plan to do that?

By Vincent Cheng

If Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the 66-year-old presidential candidate of the major opposition Kuomintang (KMT), were to win the presidency, he would set a rare precedent for the democratic ascent of a police chief to the nation’s top post.

Even internationally, it seems that only once has the head of the police force become president in a democratic election. That was Theodore Roosevelt Jr., whose crackdown on crime as New York police chief helped pave his way to the White House at the turn of the 20th century.

But in contrast to Roosevelt, Hou does not hail from a wealthy, influential family. The son of a pork vendor, he was born and grew up in southern Chiayi County. He chose a police career, studying at the Department of Criminal Investigation at the Central Police University to reduce the financial burden on his parents.

Hou often says he has been raised by the state, which is why he regards the Republic of China as his “second mother.” During his time at the police school, Hou did not have to worry about his livelihood. But he was also always awarded prizes for perfect attendance. This entailed not only showing up all the time but also displaying impeccable behavior, such as folding your duvet into a perfect cube.

The young Hou was a relentless worker, forgetting to sleep and eat while investigating to crack a case. When getting married at age 26, Hou refused to take off the full 14 days given to newlyweds for their honeymoon, reporting back to duty early. As a result, he happened upon one of Taiwan’s most wanted criminals during a random check, arresting the suspected murderer. Subsequently, Hou cracked several major crime cases, quickly rising through the ranks and gaining popularity, becoming the most famous police officer on the island. In his further career, he became the youngest commissioner of the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau before eventually taking the helm of the National Police Agency itself, also as the youngest head of the police force ever.

After 2008, Hou took over as president of the Central Police University before being recruited as deputy mayor by then-New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu. He held that position until 2018 when he first ran for public office himself, winning the mayoral race in New Taipei City and being reelected in 2022, both times garnering more than a million votes.

A bumpy road from mayor to president

Yet, in contrast to his smooth civil servant career, the road for Hou’s presidential bid has been riddled with obstacles.

After being nominated for the KMT’s presidential ticket in May, support from the party’s traditional voter base remained lackluster. Observers attributed this to Hou’s image as a lone bird within the party, since due to his background and personality, he did not really belong to the KMT elite. In public opinion polls, he trailed in third place for a long time behind Vice President Lai Ching-te, the DPP’s candidate, and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je, sparking calls from within the KMT that Hou be replaced with a more promising candidate.

One of Hou’s aides concedes that Hou was quite tense and uptight for some time, which manifested itself in frequently furrowed eyebrows. He gradually relaxed, returning to his true self only after his nomination was confirmed.

Once he was nominated, he needed to prove to the electorate that he had presidential caliber. Yet, when attending a talk with university students in June, he was not able to clearly explain major policies such as cross-strait relations, energy, and housing justice.

Former Vice Premier Woody Duh, the convener of Hou’s national policy advisor team, agrees that Hou did not previously get much exposure to central government-level policy on cross-strait and international relations or industrial development. But Duh points out that Hou has been absorbing a massive amount of information in recent months, making considerable progress with regard to national policy expertise.

A quick learner and born planner

Hou’s trip to the United States in mid-September was a crucial part of his campaign. Since circles within the KMT subscribe to so-called US skepticism, advocating that Taiwan keep a distance from or reduce its relations with the United States, some observers have wondered whether the US-supported national defense policy would change should the KTM return to power. Therefore, Hou made it a point to meet Sandra Oudkirk, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), at the Taipei defense expo. When addressing a think tank in Washington, Hou for the first time stated his “3D-Strategy” of deterrence, dialogue, and de-escalation, deftly allaying American misgivings and concerns.

What’s wrong with being a police officer?

“People say I am just a police officer. I think this is quite odd; what’s wrong with serving as a police officer,” asks Hou in dismissing claims he is not cut out for national politics.

He prides himself on having studied science and engineering and skillfully using scientific tools to reconstruct crime scenes and analyze physical evidence. At the same time, he has also undergone legal training.

Hou is turning his civil service career, the perceived disadvantage, into a selling point, positioning himself as a different breed of leader. “I have risen from the bottom of the hierarchy as an ordinary civil servant through practice and experience; I am not a political figure,” he declares. What does that mean? “Everyone can make promises, but I will deliver on what I promise,” he says.

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