Kaohsiung Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said that he would remain focused on running the city and answer questions about his national policy plans only in writing.
“As the mayor of Kaohsiung, I will concentrate on running the city,” he told reporters after a meeting at the Kaohsiung City Council.
He added that he would be happy to verbally respond to any questions about city affairs, but questions about his national policy plans would only be answered in writing.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
“This would keep the roles very clear, instead of being confusing,” he said.
As the Kaohsiung City Government’s affairs are likely to be closely scrutinized, “we must do an even better job and not make any mistakes,” he said.
As an example, Han said he has instructed all departments to ensure that Tropical Storm Danas causes no damage to the city.
The KMT on Monday announced that Han had won its presidential primary poll, beating his closest rival, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), by 17 percentage points.
Han the same day in a Facebook post thanked Kaohsiung residents for their support and understanding, and pledged to improve the city’s economy as president, if elected.
“I promise that my platform of making Kaohsiung the richest city in Taiwan will continue,” he wrote.
As president, he said he would develop major infrastructure in the city, such as a large airport and a free-trade zone.
While the central government has long ignored Kaohsiung’s need for better infrastructure, he would make it a priority to balance economic development in northern and southern Taiwan, Han said.
He would not only set up his campaign office in Kaohsiung, but govern the nation from Kaohsiung half of the week if elected president, he said.
People support him because they have realized that “they do not need any more political wars and all they want is a better life,” Han said.
The KMT would aim to create a safe and wealthy Taiwan, and would help the Republic of China regain its glory, he said.
He is confident that the party could create another “Taiwan Miracle” with its pragmatism and outward-looking spirit, he added.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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