Making his most high-profile public appearance since losing the election for Taipei City mayor late last month, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday told a crowd in Da-an Park that he would strive for a “new beginning.”
Hundreds of supporters turned out for the music festival, the finale of the large-scale concerts Su’s “Open Taipei” election campaign held in parks throughout the city over the last six months. In his prepared remarks, Su said that his supporters should not give up.
“When the ballot count [on election day] started coming in, I said that I would not regret anything I had done and that no one should give up hope,” Su said. “As long as the hope is still there, we can wipe away our tears and rebuild.”
PHOTO: CNA
Su spoke after he was unexpectedly drubbed in the polls against Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), losing by 12 percentage points, despite opinion polls prior to the election that suggested the two were in a dead heat.
Throughout his campaign, Su had repeatedly expressed confidence that he would be elected the second Democratic Progressive Party mayor of Taipei, following former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who was elected mayor in 1994.
Su’s campaign, led by young voters, planned dozens of music festivals, public forums and even trips into the homes of supporters to explain Su’s policies, which emphasized that governance should be a “conversation with the public.”
“We created new examples and new values [during our campaign]. We will not be giving these up just because of this one election setback,” he told the crowd.
The former premier ended up only taking 628,129 votes compared with the 797,865 obtained by Hau.
However, saying his political career was far from over, the 53-year-old said he would continue his political path.
He said that he would be donating most of his election proceeds to create a new political fund dedicated to “exceeding” politics, as part of his election slogan.
“We will continue and look forward. I will also stick to my set of beliefs and hope for the best,” he said.
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