《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Presidential election ballot order numbers drawn

AUSPICIOUS NUMBERS: In the tradition of putting a positive spin on the placement drawn for ballots, each of the party representatives said their number was prophetic

By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

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The order in which the three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates are to be placed on the ballot in next month’s election was decided yesterday at a drawing held at the Central Election Commission.

Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） candidate Eric Chu （朱立倫）, along with his running mate, Jennifer Wang （王如玄）, is to appear at No. 1 on the ballot as well as official election bulletins.

Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） and her running mate, Chen Chien-jen （陳建仁）, are placed at No. 2, with No. 3 going to People First Party （PFP） candidate James Soong and his running mate, Hsu Hsin-ying （徐欣瑩） of the Republican Party.

None of the candidates personally attended the drawing; KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan （李四川） drew for Chu, Tsai’s national campaign headquarters executive director Lin Hsi-yao （林錫耀） drew for Tsai and PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung （張昭雄） drew for Soong.

The candidates’ representatives said they were satisfied with their positions in remarks outside the commission.

“Every number is the best number, but we drew the best of the best numbers,” Lee said, adding that No. 1 would guarantee victory in the elections, while matching Chu’s campaign slogan of “One Taiwan.”

Supporters chanted “Chu first,” “Taiwan first,” “one Taiwan,” and “Taiwan is strength,” before shouting dong suan （凍蒜, Taiwanese for “get elected”）.

“Yesterday I dreamed about this number — what No. 2 represents is that the Tsai-Chen pair of candidates is the strongest, most talented and ideal of all pairs of candidates,” Lin said.

When asked if the number was related to this being the second time Tsai is running for president, he said the drawing of the number represented both “the will of heaven” and “coincidence.”

This election is the first time Chu is running for president, while it is the third time that Soong is running for the top post.

Soong supporters backed by young members of the Republican Party shouted that his ticket’s “bravery would crown the three armies [tickets]” （勇冠三軍）, following the tradition of putting an auspicious twist on the number by associating it with positive idioms.

Chang said he was “satisfied” with the “auspicious” number.

The election is scheduled to be held on Jan. 16 to decide who would become Taiwan’s next president on May 20, when President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） steps down after serving the maximum of two four-year terms.

Polls have shown that Tsai has a good chance of returning the DPP to power after eight years in the opposition.

Legislative elections are to be held on the same day.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES