Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights pulled out all the stops yesterday campaigning for their respective candidates in today’s legislative by-elections.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his role as KMT chairman, spent last night in Taoyuan County campaigning for Apollo Chen (陳學聖).
The KMT hopes to win in Taoyuan and Hualien counties, both traditional pan-blue strongholds.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) stumped for Hualien candidate Wang Ting-sheng (王廷升) on Thursday and yesterday, attacking both DPP rival Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and independent candidate Shih Sheng-lang (施勝郎).
Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) accompanied Shih yesterday as he canvassed the streets, deepening the conflict between his faction and the KMT.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) denied that the Hualien contest had become a battle between the KMT and Fu, urging pan-blue supporters to vote for Wang so the county would not be governed by Hsiao, who is not from Hualien.
“We think the party would have a great chance of taking Hualien if we can integrate pan-blue forces,” Su said.
Ma accompanied Wang as he campaigned in Hualien yesterday afternoon.
He attacked Shih for having a criminal record, while challenging Hsiao over her campaign promises, which include cutting ticket prices for trains and planes.
“You all should think about whether those candidates will develop the county and present solid policies before casting your votes,” Ma said.
King admitted the party was facing tougher battles in Hsinchu and Chiayi counties.
The KMT has had difficulty integrating local factions in Hsinchu, and will have to win the support of factions led by Hsinchu County Commissioner Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) and Hsinchu County Council Speaker Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴) to win.
Ma said today’s by-election was an important battle for the KMT, and he urged voters to support KMT candidates to boost party momentum.
DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also spent yesterday campaigning, making stops in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu.
Tsai called on voters to send a message to the Ma administration that it was “time for change.”
She said the party would aim for a “home-run,” and attempt to win all four seats up for grabs today.
“We have assumed control of all four election races, we know that some places are stable and some places need more work,” Tsai said. “Based on the local response we’ve had … we hope that we could deliver the best results.”
Any optimism about an upset in the three races was tempered by fears over corruption and last- minute vote buying by the KMT, DPP officials said.
In Taoyuan County, DPP heavyweight Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) called the rival candidate “ruthless,” and said voters should be wary of attempts by the KMT to “influence voting.”
Tsai voiced similar sentiments.
“We have heard numerous rumors from locals that our opponent is being supported by money,” she said.
In a sign of how important the DPP was taking the elections, party headquarters was virtually empty as officials went out stumping yesterday.
Some officials headed to Taipei Main Station yesterday morning to hand out flyers urging commuters to go home and vote for the DPP’s candidates. Similar activities also took place in Taichung and Kaohsiung.
DPP officials said they were confident that Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) would win by a wide margin in Chiayi because the county has traditionally supported the DPP.
However, they were more subdued regarding the other three counties.
“Any wins in Taoyuan, Hsinchu or Hualien would be a success for the DPP,” party spokesman Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said, adding that the DPP was confident of winning at least one of the three seats.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS