Frank Hsieh, a candidate in Taiwan's leader election, might pay a price for his excessive frankness this time, after calling local men who have married women from the mainland of China as "piggy brothers", according to Taiwan media reports.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for the election have insulted many local men with mainland wives when he told Taiwan men not to pin their hopes on the opening of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, in attempt to marry "cheap" mainland women.

Wang Bao-jun, spokesman for Taiwan's Association for the Care of New Residents, said his wife is a graduate of the mainland's prestigious Tsinghua University and she has become part of Taiwan people. He wondered how Hsieh could use the word "cheap" when talking about the mainland spouses of Taiwan people.

In Taiwan, about 280,000 local residents have married mainland people. The total number of people living in families with mainland members has topped 500,000, according to local media.

Traditionally, Chinese regard the pig as a stupid animal.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2008)