The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi’s (侯友宜) criticism of a new DPP commercial a day before it aired suggested that Hou had somehow obtained the files.
The KMT said that the commercial had scenes that were derogatory toward former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), showing the mayor’s empty office to suggest his tardiness and a mahjong table to insinuate that Han liked gambling.
It then said the ad warned that voting for the KMT or the Taiwan People’s Party would bring Han back into politics.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Hou’s campaign office said the commercial infringed on the Copyright Act (著作權法), as the first four seconds were a frame-for-frame copy of a KMT commercial.
KMT campaign spokesperson Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) said that the DPP had obtained the footage via sources “who could not condone plagiarism.”
It was suspicious that the Hou campaign was criticizing the commercial before it even aired, DPP lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.
Huang said that the commercial was in line with Article 65 of the act and that it was a comedic re-enactment that would not confuse the public, adding that the KMT need not be afraid of the commercial and should not pressure the media.
DPP spokesperson Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) at a news conference said that despite the KMT’s claims that the democratic system is all about checks and balances, voting the KMT back into power would bring corruption back into politics.
If the KMT is voted into power, people like Han, who Chang said was “profane and controversial,” as well as disrespectful toward women, would likely be tapped as speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Chang said.
Chang also criticized KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and other KMT lawmakers for blocking national defense budgets and impeding the government’s goal to build up an autonomous national defense sector, while also accusing Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) and Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), both affiliated with the KMT, of illegally occupying national land and growing their own political dynasties.
Chang said that the KMT’s pro-China stance would contribute to the regression of Taiwanese democracy and damage national sovereignty, citing former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) pro-China comments about supporting “ultimate reunification” and KMT Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) heading a delegation of retired military officers to China to attend a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2016.
Chang said that the KMT proposal to resume talks on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement would take the nation back a decade and result in low-wage work environments for young people.
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