President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, yesterday began a five-day motorcade campaign in the run-up to Saturday’s elections.
The motorcade set off from Pingtung County’s Fenggang Village (楓港), her ancestral home, yesterday.
Four years ago in the final week prior to the 2016 elections, she started a similar campaign event in Pingtung, where she experienced the most hospitality, Tsai said, adding that she looked forward to seeing poll results from her hometown the most.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
At noon, the motorcade arrived in Kaohsiung, where Tsai was joined by several DPP legislative candidates to seek support throughout the city.
The motorcade arrived in Tainan in the afternoon, where the Tainan Police Bureau mobilized nearly 900 peacekeeping officers to ensure a smooth tour.
Tsai rode behind bulletproof glass in the back of a jeep as she waved to onlookers.
The National Security Bureau has arranged for a vehicle of the same model to follow Tsai to minimize security risks, such as a malfunction of the primary vehicle, a bureau official said.
Later yesterday, Tsai attended a rally in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六), before another rally in Chiayi City in the evening.
Separately yesterday, Tsai’s campaign office in Taipei released a video called “Speak Loudly” (大聲說話), which highlights how precious democracy is by contrasting peace and freedom in Taiwan with clashes and turmoil in Hong Kong, where Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula is implemented.
The elections could determine whether Taiwan moves away from dictatorship or toward it, which is why every Taiwanese must cast the right votes to speak loudly their determination to stand with democracy, freedom and the world, the video said.
The video was directed by Lo Ging-zim (羅景壬), who has received more than 10 awards at home and abroad, such as “Best Commercial of the Year” and “Best Director,” Tsai campaign office spokeswoman Chien Hsu-pei (簡舒培) said.
The video was to appeal to the electorate, asking them not to accept the “one country, two systems” formula or the so-called “1992 consensus,” Chien said, adding that the ballots on Saturday could show the world Taiwan’s firm resolution.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
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