Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday criticized outgoing Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
She made the comment at an event yesterday for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Taipei City councilor Huang Hsiang-chun (黃向群).
Over the eight years of Ma's term as mayor, Lu said that he seemed to enjoy posing in front of the camera and that she was curious how much time was left for Ma to serve Taipei's residents.
PHOTO: CNA
"He spent too much time in front of the camera to boost his own image, while he should have done it for that of the city," she said.
Saying that the beauty of the city does not only lie on the outside but also on the inside, Lu added that although Taipei has the world's tallest freestanding building, Taipei 101, there is still much housing in the city's old districts that requires the city's attention.
Of the more than 85,000 families in the country that did not have houses or enough money to buy food, Lu said that 12,500 of them live in Taipei.
"It is not something that the city likes to brag about and I don't think it is something that Taipei residents are happy to see," she said.
At a seperate event campaigning for DPP candidate for Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) yesterday morning, Lu said that Ma did a poor job internationalizing the capital city during his two four-year terms even though the Harvard-educated mayor has a great command of English.
Lu asked Taipei voters to give DPP mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (
While Hsieh has not been polling well in surveys, Lu remained evasive about his election prospects, saying that she was not a fortune teller.
When asked to comment on voters' lukewarm enthusiasm this year, Lu said that it may be a sign that Taiwan is becoming a more mature democracy.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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