Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Taipei mayor Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday accused the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan of political maneuvering in their support for a “recklessly formulated” plan by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to build cheap public housing in expensive areas.”
Su said that while it was the responsibility of government to build public housing and make it affordable for the young and the disadvantage, Hau, seeking re-eelction in the Nov. 27 vote, took no action on the matter in his first four years in office until a few months ago.
“It’s like a hurriedly written essay that reads very badly,” Su said. “The way the policy is formulated is very similar to the -much-criticized bicycle lane on Dunhua North and South Road.”
In response, Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) described Su’s comments as “false accusations,” saying Taipei had the highest public housing rental rate in Taiwan.
In related developments, Su down played comments by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who told his Facebook and Plurk fans during a meeting in Taipei on Saturday that former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who was defeated in the 2008 presidential election, should run again in 2012.
Su, who has been touted as a potential candidate for the next presidential election, said it was a good thing to see the former president encourage younger people. However, he said he did not want to think about anything other than his mayoral bid.
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