With less than two weeks left until the special municipality elections, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and his Democratic Progressive Party opponent Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) spent yesterday visiting local districts and continuing to challenge each other’s ability to improve the city.
During an inspection of the Shilin night market in the morning, Su accused Hau and the Taipei City Government of delaying renovations at the market.
“The renovation project was scheduled to be completed in 2004, but the market is still under construction today. Hau and the city government’s inefficiency means residents of Taipei must suffer. It’s a shame,” he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The long-stalled renovations to the market had been rescheduled for completion in February, but the deadline has now been pushed to June.
DELAYS
Su said more than 60 percent of major public works projects in Taipei City have experienced similar construction delays under Hau’s administration, adding that if he were elected, he would improve the situation.
Hau, who visited a local market in the Jinmei area of Wenshan District (文山), countered by defending the efficiency of the city during his term in office.
“We’ve completed 71 urban renewal projects in the past three years. Mr Su, however, only did six urban renewal projects during the eight years when he was serving as Taipei County commissioner,” Hau said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has stepped up the efforts to campaign for Hau as the election draws near. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his capacity as KMT chairman, yesterday accompanied Hau on a visit to a veterans community in Songshan District (松山).
“Taipei City has developed more rapidly under the administration of Mayor Hau and he has done a better job than me. Please give him a chance to serve the residents for another four years,” Ma said.
Ma has been campaigning for Hau for three consecutive days. He attended a campaign party in Daan Park on Friday night and visited the Raohe Stree night market on Saturday night, shaking hands with vendors and visitors in the rain for more than two hours.
TIGHT BATTLE
The two candidates have been fighting a tight battle in the city. A poll released by Next TV on Wednesday showed Hau leading with 33.4 percent against Su’s 33 percent, well within the margin of error.
Su, who abandoned traditional campaign strategies and sought support from the younger generations by using Plurk, an online social network service similar to Twitter, said he was confident he would win the support of swing voters and retake Taipei City form the KMT, which has governed the city for the past 12 years.
Acknowledging he was facing a tough battle, Hau again accused Su of failing to provide a solid campaign platform.
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