A long-shot candidate for the Taipei mayorship has become the focus of campaigning for the nation's two largest political parties as only hours remain before voting stations open.
People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), running in the Taipei mayoral election as an independent, lashed out at both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for "targeting him" in their election campaigns, saying both parties will pay the price if he wins the election.
While the KMT's strategy is to prevent Soong from peeling enough votes away from its candidate to cause a pan-blue split, the DPP is trying to use the prospect of a Soong mayorship to energize pan-green supporters.
No chance
Most polls released before the pre-election ban on publishing poll results showed Soong as having virtually no chance of winning the mayorship, with some polls showing single-digit percentages in support for the one-time presidential contender. But his candidacy has remained a prominent talking point for both major political parties.
The DPP yesterday carried a print ad in major Chinese-language newspapers which carried the warning "If James Soong wins the election, the DPP crashes," urging voters to "save" its candidate, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
Meanwhile, Soong sought to capitalize on the attention he was receiving.
"The KMT is worried about the election, but the DPP is more desperate about the situation. If I win the election, Hsieh will have to fulfill his promise by leaving the DPP and calling on the president to step down," Soong said yesterday while canvassing for support in Xinyi District.
Rumors
Soong condemned DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun for "spreading rumors" about holding a private meeting with him, while also accusing his KMT counterpart Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of lacking the ability to lead Taipei City.
"The two parties are panicking about losing the election, and so now they are losing their minds," he added.
Accompanying city councilor candidates to canvass supporters in the city, Yu yesterday urged voters not to allow Soong to win the election, while once again pledging to resign from his post if the DPP lost the elections in both Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Hau, on the other hand, ignored Soong's remarks, calling on pan-blue supporters to get out and vote, rather than be "fooled" by his high support rates in most polls, which show him with as much as a 7 percentage point lead over the next closest candidate, Hsieh.
According to Hau camp spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東), Hau will focus the final efforts on visiting local districts, and will not issue any attacks on either Hsieh or Soong.
"It's very tight ... We predict that Hsieh could attract about 40 percent of the vote, and so it's a close game," Hau said yesterday while visiting Wenshan District.
Meanwhile, DPP lawmakers could hardly stop talking about Soong.
Conference canceled
A scheduled press conference aimed at accusing Hau of illegally purchasing land designated for conservation was canceled, and DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) called a last-minute press conference demanding Soong quit politics if the percentage of his votes obtained was "low."
Later in the day, PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said that both Ker's press conference and the DPP's newspaper ads were actually designed to get pan-blue supporters to rally behind Soong to boost Hsieh's chances.
"We appreciate the DPP's kindness. However, the strategy is so tricky that swing voters won't like it. Hsieh is probably out, as he can't get elected by DPP diehards alone," Liu said.
At a separate event yesterday, Hsieh urged the public not to assume that the election was decided.
"Nobody can be 100 percent sure about the results of the election," Hsieh said. "Eight years ago, nobody was expecting my victory in the Kaohsiung mayor election. I am sorry to say that my victory also made gamblers lose lots of money."
Hsieh said that more and more rumors will be spread as election day nears.
"But, rumors are rumors because they are created by those who try to manipulate the result of the election," he said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
also see stories:
Elections 2006: Hau promises to carry on Ma's work
Elections 2006: Hsieh eyes Olympics as catalyst for Taipei
Elections 2006: Soong promises to be a `servant for Taipei residents'
Elections 2006: Chou and Li both shooting from the lip
Elections 2006: Ko Tzu-hai stands apart in race to be mayor of Taipei
Elections 2006: DPP's Chen Chu outlines vision of a brighter future
Elections 2006: Huang fights another day
Elections 2006: Lo Chih-ming sees himself as Kaohsiung's CEO mayor
Elections 2006: Chiou rebuts campaign involvement allegations
Elections 2006: Kaohsiung a role model, Chen says
Elections 2006: Hsieh criticizes Hau over special fund abuse claim
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from