DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (
At a rally for TSU city council candidates last night in Kaohsiung, former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee said that construction projects have sprouted in the city since Hsieh took over as mayor.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The city now competes with Taipei because Hsieh's leadership has resulted in the launch of a rapid transit system, the cleanup of Love River and an improvement in the quality of tap water," Lee said, implying that former mayor Wu Den-yi (
At the rally, national policy adviser Alice King (
Earlier at the rally, Hsieh expressed his gratitude for the help TSU supporters have given him.
At another rally yesterday, held for Hsieh and DPP city councilor candidates carrying the theme "Kaohsiung people, stand up," first lady Wu Shu-chen (
"Things like this have almost made the election meaningless," Wu said.
Hsieh said at the rally that his trip to Taipei yesterday afternoon had clarified controversial issues relating to the check.
But the check remained a hot issue in Kaohsiung. When asked whether Huang would also take time out of his campaign to respond to allegations, Huang's spokesman Lin Yi-shih (
"It's Hsieh's own business to prove his innocence. How could he request others to give up the election campaign?" Lin said.
Huang was supported yesterday by the pan-blue camp, which carried out a march downtown to promote his campaign.
Huang, who was dressed in military garb to show his combat effectiveness, admitted that Hsieh would benefit by receiving support from President Chen Shui-bian (
"However, this is a mayoral election rather than a warm-up exercise for the 2004 presidential election," Huang said, "What I have is my resolution to serve residents," he said.
Both Huang and Hsieh yesterday did their best to win support from labor and public servants.
Huang held a rally to appeal to labor groups, saying that he knew their hardship because he is the son of a blacksmith.
Meanwhile, former National Police Administration director-general Yao Kao-chiao (
"Hsieh's consideration for both police and firemen demonstrates his vision to improve public security," Yao said.
Yao said he did not fear possible punishment from the KMT for his support of Hsieh.
Yao said he met with Hsieh more than 10 times recently to discuss strategies to improve public security in Kaohsiung.
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Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November