A coalition of Hakka groups yesterday called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to nominate former acting Kaohsiung mayor Yeh Chu-lan (
Peter Lo (
Nearly 50 Hakka groups around the world have voiced their support for the campaign, he said at a press conference in Taipei yesterday morning.
"For the sake of national development, we urge the DPP to say yes to a Hsieh-Yeh ticket," he said.
Lo said they thought the pairing would be perfect because Hsieh is a Taiwanese man and Yeh a Hakka woman.
Lo added that they were not asking the DPP to give them anything in return; rather, they were providing the party with a good talent.
"Yeh will only be a plus to the DPP. We also welcome the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to pick a Hakka as a running mate," he said.
Chang Yeh-shen (
Saying that the past seven years had been one of the best times for the Hakka population, Chang added that the Hakka culture had an opportunity to be reborn under the DPP administration.
Since Chen garnered 40,000 more votes from Hakka voters in the last presidential election, Chang said the DPP should not underestimate Yeh's influence on the Hakka electorate.
Yeh, who is out of the country, was not available for comment.
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