The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayoral candidate for Taipei Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that while he wished the Taipei International Flora Exposition great success, the city government should put its money where its mouth is.
Su said the six-month event cost the city NT$14 billion (US$437.5 million), the equivalent of several years’ budgets for many counties and cities.
Over the past 50 years, none of the countries that hosted flora expos approved by the International Association of Horticulture Producers did so in November, except for Thailand, which has a tropical climate, Su said.
Asked about the firework displays held on the opening night of the the flora expo on Saturday, Su said that many people had been very disappointed, their view obscured by a blanket of white smoke.
Others felt that the city government should have used the money to promote social welfare rather than on expensive fireworks displays.
Su said it would be nice to have a big and beautiful garden after spending so much money.
“The city government must put its money where its mouth is,” he said.
Su made the remarks when attending an outdoor performance to mark the opening of his campaign office in Songshan (松山) and Xinyi (信義) districts.
He said that everything changes over time and if Taiwan wants change, it must start with the capital city.
Instead of establishing one big, elaborate campaign headquarters, Su said that he had decided to set up just 10 small campaign offices selling T-shirts, stationary and CDs, just like corner shops or convenience stores.
Young people nowadays do not care so much about political affiliation, Su said. Instead, they want to see the incumbent step down if he or she does not know how to do the job or performs poorly.
Discussing his 30 years of public service, Su said he had proven time and again that he is an honest politician who delivers on his promises and knows how to get things done.
“To be the county or city chief is my forte and I need no time to familiarize myself with the new job,” he said.
“Somebody says he will do a good job in the future, while he fails to do so now and in the past. That sounds more like someone contesting a composition competition to me, not a mayoral election.”
In response, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said that an unsuccessful flora expo would certainly have a negative impact on Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) re-election bid, and many expected Hau to do a good job as it was his duty to do so.
King said that the residents of Taipei City had already witnessed for thesmelves Hau’s ability to lead and his speedy response to public demand from the way he oversaw the trial run for the flora expo.
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