Daylong festivities yesterday organized for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) 24th anniversary celebrations attracted thousands of fervent supporters in Taichung, in the latest sign of optimism going into the November elections.
“It’s time for change and it’s time for something new,” DPP mayoral candidate for the Greater Taichung area Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) told participants as the events opened.
Many of those in attendance said they believed the opposition party would make a clean sweep of the Nov. 27 polls.
The festivities, which included an open-air marketplace during the day and speeches by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and DPP mayoral candidates later in the evening, were the first celebrations for the party since 2008.
The DPP was started by political dissidents who were involved in the pro-democracy movement in 1986, a year before the lifting of martial law. It was the first party started against the then-authoritarian Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
“The DPP is a Taiwan-based party that was born and raised here, as opposed to the KMT, whose heart is set in Beijing,” Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) said. “We have supported this country every step of the way.”
Concerns that the event would be postponed in the wake of Typhoon Fanapi, which stuck last weekend, turned out to have been unfounded. Last year, the DPP canceled its festivities after Typhoon Morakot killed hundreds and devastated parts of southern and eastern Taiwan.
Organizers estimated that attendance at the marketplace event, which began at about 4pm in central Taichung, was about 3,000. However, for the operators of the 155 stalls at the event, the number meant little compared with the symbolism of the festivities.
“There were a lot of spectators, but not so many buyers,” said Chiang Hsiao-ching, a seller of traditional snacks. “Most stall owners here are not well off, but what is more important for us is to be here and show our support for both Su and the DPP.”
Chen Yi-chun (陳怡君), the operator of a specialty coffee stall, said with conviction that the opposition party would carry Taichung and the four other municipalities electing new mayors, adding that Su would provide a far more effective voice for farmers and agricultural workers than his KMT opponent, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強).
“He did well [promoting] agriculture during the period he was Pingtung County commissioner and then Council of Agriculture minister,” Chen said. “He understands our needs and interests.”
Those comments dovetailed with what the DPP was hoping to accomplish by holding the anniversary in Taichung, with the high-profile event providing Su with a boost in the pan-blue stronghold.
Despite the location of the event, some could not refrain from taking a jab at the recent overpricing scandal in Taipei City involving the administration of Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
A stall opened by DPP Taichung City Councilor Chen Shu-hua (陳淑華) was selling bulbs of basil for NT$200 each, the price an audit by DPP city councilors showed the Taipei City Government paid for the product, which is 20 times the market price.
The payments at Chen’s stall, however, were voluntary and the proceeds donated to charity.
“Everybody knows what these bulbs really cost — except Taipei City Mayor Hau,” said Yang Jung-kuo (楊榮國), an official at the DPP’s Taichung branch that operated the stall. “It shows how much the [KMT] is out of touch with everyday people.”
At about 6pm, the festivities moved to Fengyuan City, Taichung County, where an estimated 7,000 gathered to hear speeches by the party’s leaders.
Security at the event was tight, with dozens of uniformed and plainclothes police patrolling the venue.
Tsai, who has helped turn the opposition party around after a series of disastrous election defeats in 2008, was greeted by many in the crowd saying that she had helped energize the DPP’s elections prospects ahead of November.
Many are hoping she can replicate her successes in the previous three legislative by-elections and one local municipality election in the upcoming elections, seen by many as a key indicator of public support in the run up to the 2012 presidential elections.
“Just when we think that this country has fallen into darkness and that the government on all levels has let us down, the DPP will light a new flicker of hope [for Taiwan],” Tsai told the thousands gathered.
“Never forget that this is our purpose,” she said.
Ko Cheng-hui (柯政輝), who came to the rally along with his wife, said Tsai’s leadership was a key factor in the party’s surprise turnaround.
“Of course, she couldn’t have done it alone, but there’s a reason why there’s so much hope around the DPP this time around,” he said.
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