Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun's rally at the Kaohsiung City Culture Center on Saturday night yielded unexpected results yesterday as the Kaohsiung City Government said it will punish the public relations company that hosted the event for violating regulations.
Bureau of Culture Affairs Chief Secretary Ou Hsiu-ching (
Although the PR company applied for permission to hold the rally using the name of a concert, the rally proved to be a campaign event, Ou said, adding that the bureau will hold a meeting this morning to determine the punishment.
The company could be barred from applying for events at the center for one to three years.
Yu announced on Friday he would hold 100 rallies around the nation to encourage the DPP to hold a referendum on the recovery of Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets.
The rallies began on Saturday, with Yu taking the opportunity to draw a distinction between himself and former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who announced his presidential bid in February.
Yu said at the rally that next year's presidential election represented a competition between "people who identify with Taiwan and people who identify with China," between "reformists and anti-reformists" and between "justice and injustice."
Comparing himself to "other politicians who were once lawyers," Yu said that he was more trustworthy and reliable and that the only way the DPP would win the presidency was by electing him as the party's candidate.
Approached by reporters for comments on the violation, Yu said he knew nothing about them.
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