The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in damage control mode yesterday after the campaign office of the party’s Greater Tainan mayoral candidate, William Lai (賴清德), posted an inflammatory comment online that could have a negative impact on its electoral chances.
Still reeling from Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing’s (楊秋興) defection, the party was concerned that the remark could further strain its relations with Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (?]), who is at the center of speculation that he may be considering an independent bid after losing the party primaries in May.
In an online posting on Wednesday, Lai’s campaign chief, Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), encouraged Hsu to consider running in a by-election for Lai’s Tainan legislative seat, which he would have to vacate if he was elected in the municipal elections in November.
Lin, currently a DPP Tainan city councilor, also said that Hsu should not leave the party, adding that the DPP should unite to help elect Lai. If this happened, he said they would be happy to support Hsu as the DPP pick for the by-elections.
However, he did not say when Lai was planning to resign from his legislative seat, a move that would have an impact on when the by-elections would be held. If elected, Lai will have until Dec. 25 — the date newly elected mayors will be inaugurated — to resign his post.
The message, by one of Lai’s top strategists, offered a strong sign that the Greater Tainan candidate is growing increasingly concerned about Hsu’s electoral prospects. The latter, Lai’s rival in the party primaries, has a strong support base in Tainan City.
Party leaders are also worried after a number of sources close to Hsu said he could make an announcement confirming their apprehensions before the end of this week. Hsu publicly lashed out at the DPP last week, saying the party primaries were flawed.
While Lin has downplayed the remarks, calling them “well intentioned,” they put him at odds with Hsu, DPP officials and even Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers.
Criticizing the comments yesterday afternoon, Hsu said it was “risible how someone could take the [by-elections] and turn them into a political message.”
He said that not only did the remarks reflect a lack of political acumen, they underestimated Taiwan’s democratic standards.
“The legislative seat is not Lai’s private property that he can just share as he wishes. He has to give it up anyway if he is [elected Greater Tainan mayor],” Hsu said.
In a press conference at the legislature, KMT lawmakers called the controversy an example of how the opposition party was encouraging its politicians to “switch posts,” a move that could be illegal under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also issued a statement yesterday asking Lai’s campaign office to watch its words, saying it had to be more careful and moderate in its public remarks.
Lai’s campaign office also has a responsibility to ensure party unity, she said.
“The candidate has a duty to truly work toward understanding and caring about the feelings of other people,” she said.
Tsai and the DPP have been under growing pressure to prevent a party split after Yang, a 30-year party stalwart, announced on Monday he would make an independent run for Greater Kaohsiung mayor.
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