Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the son of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), yesterday opened his campaign headquarters in his bid for a legislative position.
Chen Chih-chung, who withdrew from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in June last year, is running as an independent for the legislative seat for Greater Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen (前鎮) and Siaogang (小港) districts.
Nearly 5,000 supporters packed the venue, including members of pro-localization groups, shouting that they were going to send “Chen Chi-chung into the Legislative Yuan and to give [President] Ma [Ying-jeou] (馬英九) a lesson,” referring to the situation concerning Chen Shui-bian, who is serving a lengthy prison term for corruption.
The former president has repeatedly denied all the charges against him and his family, saying he is the victim of political persecution.
However, at a separate setting yesterday, Chen Chi-chung’s DPP opponent, Kuo Wen-cheng (郭玟成), said getting justice for Chen Shui-bian is not a matter that legislative elections alone can solve.
“The DPP cannot afford to split apart if it wants a majority in the Legislative Yuan,” Kuo said, adding that the ninth district of Greater Kaohsiung has always been the sacred ground of the DPP and the party could not afford to lose the district.
According to Kuo, DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) has tried to mediate a solution with Chen Chih-chung, proposing that after Kuo finished serving the upcoming term, Chen Chih-chung could run for the seat.
Kuo said he had agreed to the proposal, but Chen Chih-chung had refused.
Meanwhile, in response to fact Chen Chih-chung was mentioning DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in his campaigning, calling on voters to vote for Tsai for president and vote for him for the legislative seat, Tsai campaign office spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said she maintained a positive view toward the issue.
However, Hsu added that any campaigns that were linking Tsai with a non-DDP candidate were not the same as “the original franchise.”
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff writer
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