Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged the New Power Party (NPP) to continue with its election campaign despite its tight budget and think about what it stands for.
“The NPP is feeling alive again,” Chen wrote on Facebook after meeting with NPP Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), NPP office director Chen Hui-min (陳惠敏) and Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Yu-kai (林于凱), who visited his home in Kaohsiung.
The meeting was arranged on Hsu’s request and lasted for about an hour, NPP spokesman Lee Chao-li (李兆立) said, adding that it was a learning experience for Hsu.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
The NPP would like to visit a senior politician, given that it has nominated legislative candidates in Kaohsiung and has city councilors there, Lee said.
Chen Shui-bian was particularly interested in the NPP’s campaign in the city’s Fongshan District (鳳山) and encouraged the NPP to conduct an election campaign that is “true to itself,” Lee said.
The group discussed general matters as well as the nation’s political landscape, Chen Hui-min said, adding that the former president, who is on medical parole, seemed to have retained his sharp senses.
Chen Shui-bian encouraged the NPP to have individuality, make the most of a financially difficult campaign and think clearly what its purpose is, he said.
Chen Shui-bian told them that he had initially thought that the NPP lacked a clear objective and was on the brink of dissolution, which worried him, as he believed that the NPP performed well at the legislature, Chen Hui-min said.
Meeting with Hsu allayed Chen Shui-bian’s worries and he was convinced that the party “would not fall apart,” Chen Hui-min said.
The former president said he had been brainstorming about how to help President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) win the election, adding that if it was a head-to-head race between Tsai and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Tsai had a greater chance of winning, Chen Hui-min said.
If Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) or Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) entered as a third candidate, Tsai would need to think about whether she needs a new strategy, Chen Shui-bian was quoted as saying.
The former president urged Chen Hui-min to visit markets and show up at intersections to boost her visibility in her run a legislative seat representing Fongshan, as this would help her against mobilization by the KMT, which hinges on an old network, Chen Hui-min said.
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