TAIPEI - OPPOSITION lawmaker John Chiang, the grandson of late Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai Shek, is running for re-election on a platform of improving the economy and stamping out corruption.

But instead of taking on Mr Chiang on the issues, his opponents have sought to hurt him with voters by focusing on the legacy of his controversial ancestor, seen by some as a hero and others as a dictator with blood on his hands.

Mr Chiang, a 66-year-old former Kuomintang (KMT) foreign minister, admits his re-election is far from certain but says the pro-independence ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will regret using the family name against him.

'It is a tight race but I think the DPP's campaign ploy to downplay the Chiang legacy has backfired,' Mr Chiang said during a break from campaigning in Taipei ahead of Saturday's parliamentary vote.

'Such moves not only hurt the DPP's chances but motivate opposition supporters to stand united and come out to vote.'

The KMT is tipped to do well in the election, with opinion polls in late December suggesting it could take an absolute majority of the 113 seats.

In most constituencies, the DPP is focusing on issues such as Taiwan's relations with China. But in Mr Chiang's district, history is anything but old news.

Chiang Kai Shek - who fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists - is remembered by some as the man who laid the foundation for the island's economic prosperity and safeguarded it from Chinese invasion.

But President Chen Shui Bian and his DPP have branded him a 'dictator' and hold him responsible for a massacre on Feb 28, 1947, in which thousands of locals were killed by KMT troops under Chiang's command during mass riots.

Last month, Mr Chen's government shut down the mausoleums of Chiang Kai Shek and his son Chiang Ching Kuo, citing budgetary concerns and a lack of manpower.

The government had already removed the elder Chiang's name from both a memorial hall housing a giant statue of the former leader and the international airport outside Taipei.

'We have finally managed to do what should have been done two decades ago,' Mr Chen said in his New Year address.

Two public holidays honouring Chiang Kai Shek were cancelled in August last year, and a giant statue of the leader in the southern city of Kaohsiung was dismantled.

Chiang Kai Shek set up a rival government in Taipei in 1949 after his KMT troops were defeated by Mr Mao's forces on the Chinese mainland. He died in 1975.

His son Chiang Ching Kuo served as president from 1978 until his death in 1988. The KMT continued to rule Taiwan until 2000, when Mr Chen took office.

John Chiang and his late twin brother were born out of wedlock to Chiang Ching Kuo. Their mother later died in mysterious circumstances.

Formerly known as John Chang after his mother, the incumbent MP only adopted the Chiang family name a few years ago.

'John Chiang only did two things as a lawmaker. One is to change his last name and the other is to oppose moving the Chiangs' remains' to a military cemetery, Mr Chen said last month.

But Mr Chiang, wearing a khaki campaign vest and trousers, is clearly proud of his heritage. A massive black-and-white photo of his father and grandfather hangs high on the wall of his campaign headquarters. -- AFP