客家族群佔了苗栗縣人口三分之二強，歷屆地方首長及民意代表多以客家族群為主，本研究乃在探究族群議題與地方政治發展的關連，藉由2008年苗栗縣的立委選舉做一系統性的分析，以瞭解新的選舉制度以及新的選區劃分對苗栗族群關係的影響，同時探討各政黨的提名策略及候選人的競選策略是否會受到族群屬性的不同而有所區別，最後再從新的選舉制度來討論苗栗族群發展與地方政治之關係，以做為未來選制變革之參考以及供學術界日後在實證研究的檢證。 本研究採取文獻分析法、內容分析法以及深度訪談法，總計訪談政黨主委、選 委會專業人士、立委候選人以及政治人物等四類關係人，藉以瞭解苗栗選區劃分過程是如何形成。另外，藉由選舉公報、候選人的文宣以及報章媒體中探討政黨及候選人的競選策略，並藉由立委選票的結果分析閩客之間的族群關係。 研究結果發現：苗栗選區劃分過程中族群以及人口比例是考量的重要原則，居多數的客家族群相當尊重少數的閩南族群，政黨相當重視候選人的族群身份。選舉結果顯示，關鍵少數族群是這次選戰中致勝的要素，首次成立的客家黨仍然大有可為，候選人的族群策略並沒有奏效，訴諸地域不再是票房保證，政黨已經凌駕在族群之上，投票結果已不受族群影響，苗栗政治板塊仍是藍大於綠現象，一閩一客的立委席次成形，票票等值的民主意涵更為彰顯。 More than two-thirds of residents in Miaoli County are Hakka. Therefore, most county magistrates and councilors are mainly Hakka. This study aims to address the relationship between ethnic issues and local political development by systematically analyzing the 2008 legislative election in Miaoli County. It is hoped that the study will be able to serve the following purposes: first to understand the impact of the new election system and the electoral districts divided under the single-constituency-two-votes system on the ethnic relationsship in Miaoli County, second to study whether there is a significant difference resulting from different ethnic groups in terms of nomination strategies adopted by various political parties and campaign strategies adopted by each candidate, third to discuss the possible development of ethnic relations in Miaoli County with the introduction of the new election system. This study may give authorities concerned some ideas if they want to make some changes in the election system in the future. It can also give future researchers some evidence for an empirical study. This study adopts the following methods: literature review, content analysis and in-depth interview. In-depth interview is designed to understand the forming process of planning the new constituencies and involves the following four types of people: political party leaders in Miaoli County, professionals from the election committees, legislative candidates, and political figures. On the other hand, the researcher analyses election bulletins issued by the election committee, campaign literature of each candidate, and media reports so as to get a thorough understanding of the strategies of each legislative candidate and each political party. In the end, the researcher analyses the Hakka-Souther Min ethnic relations in Miaoli County by using the legislative election results. This study has findings : both ethnic groups and population ratio are the major concerns in forming the constituencies in Miaoli County; majority Hakka quite respect the decision of minority Southern Min group; political parties show great concern about the identity of the candidate. Election results showed: minority groups played a critical role in the election; the newly formed Hakka Party has its potential in future elections; ethnic strategies adopted by some candidates did not work, that is, candidates’ resort to ethnic identity does not guarantee votes. Since the election result showed that political party identity outweighed ethnic identity, it is quite obvious that voting behavior in Miaoli County will not be decided by ethnic identity anymore. The study has found that the fact that the Blue Camp overpowers the Green Camp will not change in the foreseeable future and that two legislative seats from Miaoli County will be one from Hakka and the other from Southern Min. It is obvious that the idea that every vote counts will prevail in the future elections in Miaoli County.
