Taiwan needs an experienced master to solve its problems, not more empty promises from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), People First Party (PFP) chairman and presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said yesterday.
Soong made the remarks while stumping for independent legislative candidate Huang Ting-ho (黃定和) in Yilan, where he added that campaign maneuvering between the two major parties is a competition to see which could boast and bluff the most.
Touting his performance during his tenure as provincial governor from 1994 to 1998, Soong said that Taiwan was more harmonious in that period, and no DPP regional head picked fights with him.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
“The PFP transcends political partisanship and brings groups together to truly serve regional needs,” he said.
He also criticized the “great south, great development” policy that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is seeking re-election for the DPP, proposed on Saturday in Kaohsiung.
As president, he would be willing to talk with China, he said, adding that a stable cross-strait relationship would not mean giving up Taiwan’s freedoms or come at the expense of democracy.
Separately yesterday at a rally against air pollution in Kaohsiung, PFP vice presidential candidate Sandra Yu (余湘) was asked to comment on a remark by DDP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) that “Kaohsiung people owe Taiwan an apology.”
Yu said that Kuan was using provocative electoral language and that her party would not dance to the tune of one party provoking another.
On the issue of air pollution, she said that profits made by gas-emitting factories do not benefit the city, as taxes are all reaped by the central government, and Kaohsiung residents are justified in their anger.
Political parties should stand up for Kaohsiung and continue doing so after an election, rather than looking out for their interests only when it benefits them, she added.
“Kaohsiung, a heavy manufacturing base, suffers the most from poor air quality, with a risk of lung cancer 15 times higher than that of Keelung, Taipei and Taoyuan,” she said.
Additional reporting by Ko Yu-hao
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