The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidates yesterday pledged at a party convention to win the year-end elections against a split Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), promising voters a golden decade with better economic conditions and cross-strait exchanges.
The convention was held to boost the party’s momentum and to campaign for the five candidates.
Aside from the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), party unity was another campaign theme at the convention as the DPP face a possible split after Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) on Tuesday declared his intention to join the Greater Kaohsiung election as an independent.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Addressing the convention, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his capacity as KMT chairman, accused the former DPP government of causing great damage to Taiwan with a string of corruption scandals and its closed-door policy.
He further challenged the DPP candidates, including DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), a former vice premier who is running for Sinbei mayor, and the DPP’s Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), also a former premier, over their failure to improve the nation as top officials in a former DPP government.
“The suspension of the fourth nuclear power plant project damaged the economy, and those policymakers — former premier, vice premier and interior minister — are now representing the DPP in the elections,” Ma said at the convention held at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. “In the past eight years, the candidates did so many things that hurt Taiwan, and I don’t see how they still deserve people’s trust.”
Ma defended the government’s efforts on combating corruption, reviving the economy and promoting cross-strait relations, and said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) will bring job opportunities and prosperity to the five special municipalities.
“The five municipalities will definitely benefit from the ECFA, and we expect the candidates to promote the ECFA ... I also want to tell the DPP that it will become the enemy of the people if it continues to oppose the ECFA,” he said.
The five candidates then took turns to promote their campaign platforms, and each put a puzzle piece in the shape of their cities on a map of Taiwan to show their confidence in claiming victory in the elections.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) vowed to make Taipei “fly high” and win re-election against Su, but made a slip of the tongue when saying “the united KMT will definitely beat the split KMT,” creating a moment of awkwardness on the stage.
KMT’s Greater Kaohsiung candidate Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) assured supporters that the party would work together and blamed the DPP for economic recession in Kaohsiung.
“The KMT needs to unite to beat the split DPP and revive the economy that the people of Kaohsiung have been hoping for,” she said.
The other three candidates — Eric Chu (朱立倫) for Sinbei City, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) for Greater Taichung City and Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財) for Greater Tainan City — also vowed to win their elections.
The DPP’s possible split in Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan is a boost for the KMT as it gets set to fight a tough battle in the two pan-green strongholds. KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) has been campaigning for Huang and Kuo, and will accompany Huang at a large-scale campaign event on Tuesday.
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