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.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
RSS