In addition, the organizers should have made a NT$30,000 deposit for holding the event by Oct. 12, but failed to do so until Tuesday, Liu and Lee said.
In response, KMT Taipei branch chief Pan Chia-sen (潘家森) said that the branch had followed legal procedures in filing its application and that the city government had already approved the event.
Commenting on the matter, Cabinet spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (
Shieh reminded Hau that most cities and counties governed by the DPP had not required that Ma apply for prior approval when he embarked on a round-the-nation bicycle tour in May to drum up support for his electoral campaign.
"Most of the DPP-controlled local governments regarded Ma's cycling tour as a sports event and exempted him from the permit requirement," Shieh said.
He said that the governments had even provided assistance with traffic control along the roads that the KMT presidential candidate had ridden on.
Comparing the manner in which those cities treated Ma with the Taipei City Government's refusal to offer assistance with traffic control on the grounds that the torch relay was illegal really shows "who is being petty," Shieh said.
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