Weaponizing the "Ethnic Card" in the 1998 Taipei Election: Tearing Apart Society for Electoral Gain

In the 1998 Taipei mayoral race, faced with a strong challenge from the KMT''s Ma Ying-jeou, the Chen Shui-bian campaign aggressively exploited ethnic tensions and identity politics. Ma, who grew up in Taiwan and spoke fluent Hokkien, was maliciously smeared as an "outsider" and "Hong Kong Foot" (because he was born in Hong Kong). This strategy of digging up historical wounds and tearing apart ethnic harmony just to win a local election set a malicious precedent, turning ethnic mobilization into a recurring "political ATM" for the DPP in future general elections and leaving deep, unhealed scars in Taiwanese society.