People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) on Monday said that he would move the capital to central Taiwan if elected, so that politicians could experience what it is like to live with polluted air, but he did not specify where the capital would be located.
“I have been planning what I want to accomplish once I get to govern the nation, which I plan to disclose to the public in the coming days,” he said.
“I would focus on balancing the development in each region. Specifically, I would make central Taiwan the nation’s political center,” Soong said. “Taipei would be the center of the economy, whereas leisure businesses and long-term care industries would be developed in the southern and eastern regions.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Soong said that he has been discussing the plans with potential Cabinet members, adding that his governing team would be a grand coalition of politicians from different parties.
The idea of moving the capital to central Taiwan did not come out of nowhere, he said, adding that he has proposed similar ideas in previous elections.
Only by moving the capital would politicians get a sense of how air pollution threatens the life of ordinary people in central Taiwan, Soong said.
Asked how he plans to beat the presidential candidates from the two major parties, as polls put him in third place, Soong said that he is a capable candidate who has had two chances to win presidential elections, but voters did not choose him because he was deemed unelectable.
Nevertheless, he is confident that he would win over voters this time, Soong said.
“Twenty years ago, when it came to buying mobile phones, people chose either Nokia or Motorola. Now they want neither,” he said, adding that he is the “iPhone” of politics.
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