The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucuses yesterday accused the New Taipei City mayoral candidates of each copying their rival’s campaign platforms.
In July, DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) unveiled his platform, which included policies to push urban regeneration, childcare, elderly care, smart city development and urban beautification, as well as to help the municipality’s administrative districts carve out a niche for themselves, DPP Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan.
New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who is the KMT’s candidate for the city, copied those policies, and last month introduced his platform, which promises to “implement government-led urban renewal, double the number of public daycare centers, develop predominant business activities for each district, and build technology and security in the city,” Ho said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Su recently said that he would “provide a stage for 10 million Taiwanese to shine,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, adding that Hou then said that he would “give young people a stage by transforming New Taipei City into a nexus toward which 10 million people could gravitate.”
Hou’s campaign team even copied Su, who reminded subscribers to a social media account of his to check the winning numbers for the bimonthly uniform invoice lottery, he said.
Hou’s camp might as well pay Su for planning his campaign, as Hou’s team “simply copies everything from him,” Wang said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
KMT legislators William Tseng (曾銘宗) and Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) later held a news conference, where they rejected the allegations.
Aside from urban beautification, Hou unveiled his platform in March, which was before Su was nominated by the DPP, Ko said.
When visiting a tea farm on Aug. 7, Hou proposed a policy encouraging young “farmers” to return to their hometowns, she said.
Su a week later also visited a tea farm and said he would encourage young “people” to return to their hometowns, she said.
After Hou on Aug. 9 unveiled a policy of “exploring local business opportunities,” Su on Aug. 15 proposed the same policy at a cafe, she said.
Su even copied the slogan used by outgoing New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) in 2014 when he was running for re-election: “The Doer,” she said.
“Su’s camp should be thankful that [Hou] is not charging royalties,” Ko said.
The KMT welcomes the continuation of any policy that would benefit New Taipei City residents, but opposes unfounded accusations, Tseng said.
Voters should decide for themselves who the real “copycat” is, he added.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS