Today's openness has spawned a different breed of politician. These new democrats cultivate the common touch. The typical campaign uniform is a windbreaker and baseball cap. Last year, presidential candidate Chen Li-an walked all over Taiwan wearing a straw peasant hat and a plastic poncho. The local dialect is now the lingua franca of politics.
Accessibility is another rule.
Siew's limousine also stops at traffic lights. Contrast this with his predecessor Lien Chan's patrician bearing and his habit of causing a jam when his motorcade raced across town. Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian, meanwhile, has raised political showmanship to new heights. The first oppositionist to be elected to run Taiwan's capital, the former DPP dissident has appeared in public, on separate occasions, wearing a Superman costume and an angel outfit, complete with gold trim and a lighted star. With Chen currently looking like the DPP's best bet for the presidency in elections three years from now, the KMT may be hard pressed to find somebody to match his appeal.