One day after a heated candidates' debate, the three major contenders in the Hualien County commissioner by-election worked feverishly yesterday to solicit support.
The DPP's flag bearer in the race, You Ying-lung (
Chen, also a deputy superintendent of the institute, said Hualien's diverse ethnic groups, including Min-nan, Hakka and several Aboriginal tribes, provide abundant human resources for developments in cultural creativity, software engineering and agricultural bio-technology.
PHOTO: YANG YI-CHUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
You has made developing these sectors a major campaign promise.
Students from the institute's national policing class, female public administration class and Aboriginal affairs class -- representing elites from all walks of life -- yesterday gathered in Hualien to campaign for You, who made the power of intellect one of his campaign appeals.
While promising to improve education and the overall investment environment in Hualien, You said he will invite Chen to use her expertise in marketing to boost Hualien' s development.
Chen's trip to Hualien marked her debut at a campaign event.
She gave You advice on how to attract investment to Hualien, which has been seen as a backwater compared with other parts of the country.
Another heavyweight campaigner Lee Ming-liang (
Lee expressed his wish for a campaign free of vote-buying and encouraged You to continue to his push for clean campaigns.
The pan-blue candidate, Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山), received support yesterday from PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄), who sought to reinforce Hsieh's image as the orthodox representative of the alliance and to dent support for Wu Wu Kuo-tung (吳國棟), a KMT splinter candidate.
Chang accused You of being arrogant and boastful about his high-level of education.
In a televised debate on Saturday, You said Hualien residents were "people with low democratic spirit."
According to Chang, "That's why so many people in Taiwan are dissatisfied with our education reform, because some people think themselves more capable simply because they have a better education."
Independent candidate Wu, a KMT renegade, said he wants to finish a project he began when he was a commissioner in the early 1990s -- to make Hualien an academic center through the establishment of more universities and to improve the county's bio-technology sector.
He also dismissed an accusation from Hsieh that he neglected the welfare of landowners during a land-acquisition case in the late 1980s when he was county commissioner.
"I procured the land with tremendous efficiency in five months and ensured that landowners got compensation three times higher than the market price," Wu said yesterday.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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