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Taiwanese presidential hopeful Frank Hsieh Chang-ting   has a strong chance of beating  Kuomintang rival Ma Ying-jeou  in next March's poll, even though the former opposition leader has maintained an easy lead so far.

Without any administrative resources, the 61-year-old former premier from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party easily defeated three DPP rivals, including incumbent Premier Su Tseng-chang,  in a DPP primary on Sunday that shocked his party.

Even the main opposition KMT has admitted that Ma, the former mayor of Taipei, will have a tough time fighting off Mr Hsieh, who  served as mayor of the southern city of Kaohsiung between 1998 and 2005.

Ma is facing trial for alleged embezzlement of special allowances during his time as Taipei mayor.

'It will be a tough battle for the KMT. [Hsieh] is never an opponent to be treated lightly,' KMT legislator Huang Chao-shun   said.  She said support for Mr Hsieh  increased after he won the DPP's first-round primary, indicating Mr Hsieh was an  expert in election campaigns.

'In the past, such growth [in the support rate] would only become obvious as the election drew near,' she said.

The results of the latest opinion poll, released by the  United Daily News a day after the primary, showed support for Mr Hsieh rose from 21 per cent before the primary on April 29 to 28 per cent afterwards.  But Ma still held a lead of 43 per cent, compared with 52 per cent on April 29. Another opinion poll,  by cable news network TVBS, showed public support for Mr Hsieh  at 29 per cent, compared with Ma's 50 per cent.

But KMT officials warned that Ma should not  relax,  because there had been cases where a large  lead meant nothing in view of  effective campaign strategies mounted by the DPP.

During the 2004 presidential election, then KMT chairman Lien Chan  formed a strong ticket with his People First Party counterpart James Soong Chu-yu  to challenge President Chen Shui-bian  who was running for re-election.

Although all opinion polls at the time showed the opposition ticket was at least 30 per cent ahead of their DPP opponent, Mr Chen was still able to win  by a slim  margin.

'[Ma] has not gone through  very tough tests before. He must bear in mind that [Hsieh] is a super election strategist who is able to strive for success despite all odds,' KMT legislator Chu Feng-tzu said.

Mr Hsieh surprised observers last December  by fighting an impressive battle for the mayoral election in Taipei, a constituency with a reputation for supporting the opposition. Though he was defeated,  he was able to attract 40 per cent of the vote.

On cross-strait relations,   pundits said Mr Hsieh, who used to support a so-called 'constitutional one-China' - that there is only one China in Taiwan's constitution - could be one of the few DPP leaders Beijing might want to deal with, unlike Mr  Chen, whom the mainland has repeatedly refused to talk to.

'Compared with other DPP leaders, Hsieh is more flexible and is more conciliatory towards the mainland,' said political analyst Philip Yang Yung-ming,  director of the Taiwan Security Research Centre.

As Kaohsiung mayor, Mr Hsieh called for exchanges with the mainland coastal city of Xiamen  and better relations with Beijing under his so-called co-existence and reconciliation policy.

Professor Yang said  Mr Hsieh  was expected to adopt a more moderate posture to win support from 'swing'  voters.

Frontrunner

Public support for KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou, compared with 29pc for the DPP's Frank Hsieh Chang-ting: 50%



Hsieh tipped to close gap on Ma in election race