Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday slammed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for starting a negative campaign against him by attacking his performance as former premier.
Su urged voters to denounce the smear campaign by voting for him.
In an advertisement in yesterday’s Chinese-language China Times, the KMT’s Taipei branch challenged Su over his use of staff and aides who were involved in scandals when he served as a premier from 2006 to 2007 under the former DPP administration.
Listing the number of former Cabinet members under Su’s tenure who were found guilty in corruption or bribery scandals, including former Bureau of Investigation director-general Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂), former Financial Supervisory Commission member Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正) and former vice minister of the interior Yen Wan-chin (顏萬進), the KMT said Su should be examined for his use of problematic officials if he wants to question the integrity of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) municipal team.
Su’s challenge of Hau’s integrity came amid the ongoing investigation into the scandal surrounding the reconstruction project for the Xinsheng Overpass. Hau’s top aide, former Taipei City Secretariat director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安), was listed as a defendant by prosecutors last week.
Former New Construction Department director Huang Hsi-hsun (黃錫薰) and former section chief Chen Chih-sheng (陳智盛) have been detained since last month on suspicion of involvement.
Su yesterday brushed aside the ad and blasted the KMT for its smear campaign.
“The KMT is still using the outdated and negative campaigns that voters hate the most. I would not do such things,” he said yesterday as he opened a campaign office in Beitou District (北投).
Su pledged to make Taipei a better city and also reiterated his promise to finish the four-year term as Taipei mayor if elected in response to a question on whether he would run in the 2012 presidential election.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday said the KMT was not aiming to attack Su Tseng-chang’s previous performance, but the DPP candidate should nonetheless expect such scrutiny if he wanted to attack Hau’s performance.
Hau and Su have been fighting a tough battle in the nation’s capital. Recent polls released by several local Chinese-language media outlets showed the margin of support between the two candidates at less than 5 percent.
Su Jun-pin said the KMT will invite former Taipei mayors, including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), to campaign for Hau starting next month.
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