Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) urged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智), the party’s Taipei mayoral candidate, not to repeat a campaign promise to quit politics if he loses in the November elections.
Hsieh, widely perceived as Yao’s mentor, said that his own similar promise has haunted him as he has been unable to fulfill it.
Yao has now been unfairly implicated in that failed promise, Hsieh said, adding that he would speak on Yao’s behalf to clear up any misunderstandings if he has the chance.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Since winning the DPP nomination, Yao has said numerous times that he would quit politics if he loses the mayoral election, as a way of expressing his determination to succeed.
However, critics have expressed doubts whether he would do so if he loses.
Hsieh said he deeply regrets the association being made between Yao’s promise and his own.
He said he reminded Yao to follow the advice of Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman Yao Jen-to (姚人多) — President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) former speechwriter who has said he would assist the lawmaker’s campaign.
Hsieh, a former mayor of Kaohsiung, said he gave Pasuya Yao advice on being an effective mayor, such as “not getting hung up on minor issues.”
Being a mayor is about distributing resources and setting priorities, he said, adding that one must show resolve in the face of criticism.
Hsieh expressed his support for Pasuya Yao through a video shown at a DPP campaign event on Aug 3.
Pasuya Yao met with Hsieh on a visit to Japan on Feb. 20 when he asked Hsieh for advice.
Hsieh said he told the lawmaker that Taipei lacks ties with Japan and has no sister cities in the country.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has never been to Japan in his capacity as mayor and has neglected this aspect of the city’s development, Hsieh said.
Pasuya Yao said that Taiwan-Japan relations are the best they have been historically.
However, on a city level Taipei is falling behind Tainan, Taoyuan and Taichung in terms of its links with Japan, which have not been as good as they were when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was Taipei mayor, he said.
Taipei’s lack of ties with Japan is not a reflection of the ties formed by its residents with Japanese, but rather Ko’s and former Taipei mayors Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) and Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) focus on the Taipei-Shanghai twin-city forum, he said.
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