Campaign activities for the Taipei mayoral election in December will reach its peak next month -- when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is expected to attend two rallies for DPP candidate Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) -- a debate between Lee and KMT incumbent Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will also be held.
To boost Lee's popularity, DPP officials said Chen would attend a rally in the evening of Nov. 25 and take part in a "carnival-like" march the following day.
It will be the first time that a president of the Republic of China will participate in such a street march.
The DPP's candidates for Taipei city councilor seats and all executives with DPP membership are expected to attend the rally.
Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), director of the party's culture and information department, said the march is aimed at reigniting a vitality that has been lacking in the city.
Luo said any citizen concerned about Taipei's sustainable development is welcome to join the march.
The debate between Lee and Ma has been tentatively set for either Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 and will be broadcast on the Public Television Service (公視).
An agreement on the debate was reached on Monday during a meeting between Legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮), the lawmaker who is represening Lee, and Legislator King Pu-tsung (金浦聰), a former Taipei City Government spokesman who is representing Ma.
Kuo reportedly thought that more debates should be held. King said Ma's camp has agreed to hold one debate, but has not ruled out the possibility of more debates if the citizens of Taipei react positively to the first one.
DPP officials yesterday stressed the need for additional debate.
DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (
He noted that five debates were held during the last Taipei mayoral election four years ago when Ma beat President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who was the mayor then.
Chang said a refusal by Ma to take part in additional debates would create a negative impression because the public will interpret his reluctance as a signal that he does not want to risk his advantage as an incumbent.
"I am sure Ma does not want that to happen," Chang added.
Even though Chen has repeatedly said that the DPP is confident Lee will win, party officials acknowledged Lee faces a tough battle.
"Lee's popularity rating has been rising steadily since September [when the party kicked off its campaign]," an official said.
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