Following the crash of a military helicopter yesterday that killed eight people, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that it would suspend campaigning until Sunday, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) canceled its events until tomorrow, with both offering condolences to the bereaved families.
The DPP has canceled campaign rallies and related activities for three days, DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said, adding that its members were saddened by the tragic event.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) campaign office said in a statement that Tsai, as commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces, “has been busy supervising government agencies carrying out rescue efforts and has ordered that identifying the cause of the crash be made a priority.”
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Canceled campaign events that Tsai and former premier William Lai (賴清德), her running mate next week, had been scheduled to attend included rallies last night in Pingtung County and New Taipei City’s Sijhih (汐止) and Sanchong (三重) districts, as well as in Yunlin and Changhua counties and Taichung tomorrow.
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, offered his condolences and prayers to the victims.
“My team and I were shocked at the news [of the crash] and are praying for the wounded with all our hearts,” Han wrote on Facebook.
Hopefully, the injured personnel will recover and be reunited with their families, he said, urging all Taiwanese to pray for them.
While Han was scheduled to do a video interview last night, the interview and his campaign events today were canceled so that public resources could be devoted to the rescue mission and any subsequent investigation, Han’s campaign office said.
The KMT issued a statement offering its condolences to the deceased and wishing the injured a speedy recovery, while it urged the government to quickly identify the cause of the crash.
Former premier Simon Chang (張善政), Han’s running mate, and former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), head of Han’s campaign headquarters, canceled their campaign events for the rest of the day, while Han’s wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), canceled events yesterday and today.
People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), the PFP’s presidential candidate, also conveyed his condolences to the those affected.
“I hope that President Tsai will quickly stabilize the nation’s military command structure to ensure military readiness and that people remain confident in the ability of the armed forces to defend the nation,” Soong said.
Former United Communications Group chairwoman Sandra Yu (余湘), Soong’s running mate, canceled a campaign event in Tainan yesterday afternoon and said that she would only attend a music concert in Kaohsiung today.
Soong is to visit the Pingtung Christian Home and worship at the county’s Yuhuang Temple (玉皇宮), which are not campaign events, as scheduled, the PFP said.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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