The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday appealed for unity as it sought to boost the election chances of Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) at an election eve rally, with dozens of speakers saying that the party, the city and the nation cannot afford to lose the election.
Held on Ketalagan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building, the theme of the evening rally was “Taipei Sheng, Taiwan Win” (台北勝,台灣贏) — linking the election result of the capital city to the fate of the nation.
The slogan plays on the sheng character in Lien’s name “Sheng-wen” (勝文). Sheng means “victory” in Mandarin.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
New Party Secretary-General Lee Sheng-feng (李勝峰) was first to speak, highlighting the importance of the election to the future of the Republic of China (ROC), saying that a vote for Lien would be to defend the capital of the ROC.
Although Taipei has long been a stronghold of the KMT — voting patterns in past elections revealed a shift in blue-green support from 55-45 to 60-40 — Lien has consistently trailed his main rival, independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), in opinion polls before Nov. 18.
To drum up enthusiasm among pan-blue supporters, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that Taipei cannot afford to lose the election.
Photo: CNA
Taipei has developed into a “world-class capital” after 16 years of the KMT’s governance, starting when he was elected as Taipei mayor in 1998, Ma said.
Lien meets all the qualifications to become mayor of the capital because — as opposed to Ko — Lien has respect for women, is a professional with international vision and economic expertise, and he recognizes the so-called “1992 consensus,” which is essential to cross-strait relations, Ma added.
First lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) urged everyone to cast their ballots.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The election result has not only to do with you, but also Taiwan, your children and the future of the ROC. Cast your vote and vote for your future,” she said.
Lien appealed to young people in his speech.
“The problem Taiwan is facing is neither one of class nor generation. It’s the economy. I have the ability to improve the economy,” Lien said.
Other speakers included former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) — who had not made a public appearance since suffering a stroke in September that kept him from stumping for his son, John (吳志揚), who is running for re-election as Taoyuan commissioner — and KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who lost to Lien in the April party primary.
Lien’s father, former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), said that the Taipei race was a battle crucial to the future of not only Taipei and Taiwan, but also the ROC.
“Only when we win the election can we continue to move forward as a free and democratic territory, defend the values of fairness and justice, and expect limitless prospects for cross-strait relations,” Lien Chan said.
People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had said that the party would not take sides in the election, but the KMT had Yeh Sung-nien (葉松年), head of the Friends of James Soong Association, stump for Sean Lien at the rally.
The KMT estimated the turnout at about 80,000 people.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
RSS