The three presidential candidates’ campaigns converged in Tainan yesterday — “Super Sunday,” the last weekend day of the campaign before Saturday’s elections — where they took part in motorcades, rallies and campaign events in bids to woo southern voters.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday morning toured the city, a traditional pan-green stronghold, in a motorcade from Yongkang District (永康) before an evening rally in Anping District (安平).
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) began her campaign events by visiting the Kaitai Tianhou Temple (天后宮) in Anping District in the morning.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Her motorcade then toured the city, traveled to Chiayi for another street procession and then returned to Tainan for a nighttime rally.
The campaign trail of People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) saw him arrive in Tainan at about noon, where he visited Chenghuang Temple (城隍廟) before traveling to Kaohsiung, where he attended a rally and led a motorcade through the municipality.
The Tainan Police Department said Chu and Tsai’s motorcade routes through the city were plotted to avoid each other.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
A total of 890 police officers were deployed to enhance safety and prevent traffic congestion, the department said.
It had not issued orders to cancel police vacations, while individual precincts were responsible for their duty rosters, the department said.
Citing public safety concerns, the police department, prior to the candidates’ arrival in Tainan, called on the public to refrain from lighting firecrackers, jaywalking or rushing toward motorcades.
Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times
Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) said that Super Sunday this year was “especially ‘super’ for Tainan, as it was the first time that Chu, Tsai and Soong — as presidential candidates — had been in the city on the same day.”
The candidates’ routes had been studied by a city government task force ahead of time to avoid them running into each other, Lai said.
Things that were planned ahead of time included finding out where street processions would overlap and scheduling convoys to pass those intersections at different times, he said.
Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times
“Everyone is a welcomed guest in Tainan and the city government has the duty to ensure the safety of every candidate,” said Lai, who is a member of the DPP.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS