Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday faced intense scrutiny in his first city council meeting, as opposition councilors questioned him over his campaign promises, which they said were unrealistic and unworkable.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus listed Han’s 12 key campaign promises and asked him how many of them he could deliver in the coming four years.
The mayor said he should be able to fulfill one of them — road improvement — adding that the 12 pledges comprise short, medium and long-term goals.
Aside from road improvement, Han’s other promises include turning Kaohsiung into the richest city in the nation, developing the city’s “love industry,” increasing the city’s population to 5 million, setting up a casino, building shared residences for young and older people, and opening the city’s real-estate market to Chinese investment.
Asked how he plans to boost Kaohsiung’s population to 5 million, Han did not give a direct answer, but said “not to sell oneself short.”
He added that he has been working hard to get the US’ Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to build a theme park in Kaohsiung and talking to people on organizing major auto racing events.
Unsatisfied with Han’s remarks, DPP councilors accused the mayor of using Kaohsiung as a laboratory for his experiments.
DPP City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the son of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), asked Han if he still supported the so-called “1992 consensus” after Chinese President Xi Jingping’s (習近平) speech earlier this month on Beijing’s “one China” principle and “one country, two systems” framework.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Han said that the “1992 consensus” is not the same as the “one country, two systems” framework.
DPP City Councilor Chen Ming-tse (陳明澤) questioned Han on his campaign platform of “economy 100 percent and politics 0 percent” — a promise to focus on the economy and to set politics aside.
By accepting the “1992 consensus,” the mayor has given politics “300 percent,” Chen Ming-tse said.
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