Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) Greater Taichung mayoral candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday appealed to voters not to vote for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who ranked 18th in a performance list of the nation’s 21 mayors and commissioners.
“There is no reason to choose a mayor who has served for nine years and ranks 18th for his performance,” Su told a campaign rally in Taya Township (大雅), Taichung County.
Hu only cares about the city’s seventh readjustment area and the construction of luxurious residences there, Su said, adding that the mayor did not care about ordinary people.
The mayor also discussed buying luxurious residences with Control Yuan members Hung Chao-nan (洪昭男) and Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平) during their visit to the city government a few months ago, Su said, and also brought Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) along with a group of Chinese entrepreneurs to visit luxurious real estate in November last year.
Su said Taichung County is 13 times the size of Taichung City and that he had paid several visits to remote mountainous areas such as Heping (和平) and Lishan (梨山) townships during his campaign, which showed that he had the physical stamina to pay inspections to every corner of the future Greater Taichung — something Hu could not accomplish given his health problems.
Hu suffered a minor stroke eight years ago, which left him with slightly hindered movement in his left leg.
Meanwhile, Hu raised questions about Su’s performance on security matters when Su was minister of the interior.
National security was as its worst when Su headed the ministry, Hu told a campaign event.
At a different venue, Hu also said Taichung City must be open-minded and reach out to the world to be a competitive metropolis.
In a speech titled “The Taichung Phenomenon,” at the 18th Asian Horological Trade and Industry Promotion Conference, Hu mentioned the city’s various cultural and sports infrastructures as examples that city residents’ participation in arts and cultural events had greatly improved.
He described the Taichung phenomenon as the city’s “booming culture” and competitiveness, saying this had caused residents’ behavior, temperament and thinking to be changed by the culture-friendly environment.
Speaking to representatives of the watchmaking industry from Hong Kong, China and South Korea, Hu said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in June had changed the industrial landscape fundamentally..
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA AND STAFF Writer
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