Vote China out of Taiwan
There were no elections in the ancient age, but war to change administration of government. At that time, every mentor planned to maneuver behind the scenes and control the field from a great distance away. Today, most chiefs of staff rely on cyberwarfare.
The nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 has been called a war of democracy against communism; Taiwan against China.
Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and became its Kaohsiung mayoral candidate on May 21. He resigned as general manager of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp in 2016 and contested the KMT chairperson election last year, finishing fourth in number of votes. Due to the strong involvement of and promotion by Chinese media, Han’s popularity has soared within a short period of time. Now, he is No. 1 among the KMT candidates in the elections.
Han presented a lot of arguable campaign policies.
He said he would increase Kaohsiung’s population from 4 million to 5 million in 10 years, but did not know the current population is only 2.77 million.
He said his government would not allow any political movements in the city, but would focus efforts on promoting economics, building a Ferris wheel, building a casino in Qijin District (旗津), recognizing celebrities such as Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊) and developing Taiping Island (太平, Itu Aba).
He is a typical example of a person who enjoys democracy, but abuses it. He emphasizes that his policies can be carried out once people accept the so-called “1992 consensus,” after which investors from China will be more than happy to migrate to Kaohsiung.
“I know, he is a gangster, but I want to vote for him,” KMT Central Committee member Chen Li-shi (陳麗旭) said. “He is not only a gangster. Even if you tell me that he is a murderer and an arsonist, I would still vote for him. If you tell me he is a thief, I would still vote for him. Even if he lies to me, I would still vote for him.”
What a diehard supporter. Unbelievable!
Han has based his entire campaign strategy, promises and policies on gaining endorsements from China. Nov. 24 will be a day to examine whether the modern cyberpromotion from overseas can effectively influence local elections. It will be a big insult to the democratic system if one who made fake promises and policies, tampered with the poem of the San Fong Palace god, and did not know the population of the city he campaigned in is elected mayor.
Yes, Taiwan has long been a testing ground for Chinese cyberattacks, there were about 100,000 online attacks from China per month last year.
China’s disinformation, financial support of certain candidates and sponsoring of TV and radio programs, as well as cyberattacks, are undermining the nine-in-one elections.
Now the campaigning is almost finished. Regardless of the outcomes, a big lesson will be learned about Taiwan’s democracy. Voters need to open their eyes to examine campaign policies and promises.
Elections are to vote for capable candidates with noble characters and personalities to serve the community. Let us vote for those candidates who can sincerely keep and carry out their promises and polices.
Vote for Taiwan. Let us vote China out of Taiwan.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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