Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday said that national prosperity and harmony would be doomed if corrupt candidates are re-elected in the Jan. 11 elections.
“A nation’s wind and rain for good crops are controlled by gods, but its prosperity and harmony depend on each voter,” Han told his supporters gathered at his newly launched campaign headquarters in Nantou County.
“Casting ballots for the wrong candidates will impede national development,” he said.
Photo: Wang Shan-yen, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s current situation has to be improved, such as the loss of diplomatic allies, poorly executed education reforms, a divided society and a weakening economy, he said.
The only chance to bring about change is to cast ballots for the right candidates in next year’s elections, he added.
“If the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] once again wields total governmental control in the next four years and does as it pleases, how much does that scare you?” Han said.
At a later rally in Chiayi, Han said he has found the nation’s economy to be in an extremely poor shape on his campaign trail.
“Singapore’s GDP per capita is US$64,000, Hong Kong’s is US$49,000, despite the protests, and South Korea’s is more than US$30,000, while Taiwan’s is about US$20,000,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s economy is not the champion among the four Asian Tigers as claimed by the DPP government.
In a bid to win more votes, the DPP would rather spend NT$300 billion (US$9.8 billion) on constructing “useless buildings” than using the money to support the future generations, he said.
If elected, he would introduce bilingual education programs from the first grade, Han said.
Every undergraduate or postgraduate student in Taiwan must study abroad for a year, he said, adding that the government would have enough funds to make it a reality as long as there is no corruption.
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