The China Post news staff
Wu was quoted by the United Evening News as predicting in Washington the opposition party will win 71 of the 113 seats in parliament on Jan. 12.
He based his prediction on the past performance of the Kuomintang in the general elections.
At a symposium, sponsored jointly by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Georgetown University and the Brookings Institute, Wu forecast the ruling Democratic Progressive Party can obtain 39 seats in the nation's highest legislative organ.
The remaining three seats would be won by the Taiwan Solidarity Union, of which former President Lee Teng-hui is the spiritual leader, Wu said. He added that small parties will gain no seats and are being totally marginalized.
But Wu did not mention the People First Party, of which James Soong is chairman. Perhaps the research fellow included the seats for lawmakers at large the ally of the Kuomintang may win in the total of what is known as their pan-blue alliance.
Lo Chih-yuan, an executive security of the Taiwan Thinktank, told the symposium Frank Hsieh, Democratic Progressive Party standard bearer, would be able to set a campaign agenda after the legislative elections.
At present, it is President Chen Shui-bian who is calling the shots in the campaign of 2008.
Hsieh differs from Chen over Taipei-Beijing relationship. The president doesn't want anything to do with China. The candidate wants to improve relations between Taiwan and China.
"Only after the elections can Hsieh take the initiative," said Lo, who is chairman of the political science department at Soochow University.
He admitted Hsieh's Kuomintang rival Ma Ying-jeou has certain personal charisma. "But," the political science professor said, "Ma is unstable, and he may face the question of whether he was a spy."
Ma has been accused of working for the Kuomintang while he was studying at Harvard.
Asked on Hsieh's personality, Lo said the DPP candidate "may be religiously speculative," and that "his religious belief may be questioned in the presidential campaign."
Hsieh is closely associated with Sung Chi-li, a Taoist guru who was once convicted for fraud. Sung has a large following and claims he has ability to levitate and claimed he had taken Hsieh to the Eiffel Tower in Paris with him by levitation and manifestation.