Both Sinbei City mayoral hopefuls yesterday suggested that a near meet-up between their entourages was unsurprising, given that they have both ramped up their election events as part of campaign frenzy four days before Saturday’s elections.
Accompanied by firecrackers and watched by scores of spectators, their motorcades and dozens of supporters came within several city blocks of one another in tightly fought Yonghe (永和), part of Taipei County, which will be renamed Sinbei after its upgrade to a special municipality next month.
Smiling and waving to supporters, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) both stood in open-top jeeps leading motorcades stretching for dozens of meters.
PHOTO: CNA
Rain or shine, they said, they would make a last minute appeal to voters throughout the municipality, the country’s most populous.
Concerns over a clash were avoided after the two campaigns apparently agreed on a roadmap that avoided overlap, an issue that will grow more important as the two candidates are expected to meet again in Banciao (板橋) the day before the elections.
“It was a coincidence and it’s also another coincidence that we will meet again in Banciao. After all, we plan these events one or two weeks in advance,” said Chu, speaking of yesterday’s near miss.
Tsai agreed, adding that both camps likely chose Banciao as the site of their final election rallies on Friday because it is the seat of the county government.
“It’s the political and economic center of Taipei County and it will remain [so] for Sinbei City in the future,” she said.
The near meet-up took place just hours after Chu launched a new volley of criticism against Tsai’s campaign, attacking it for “masterminding an underhanded” letter campaign to sway voters through what he says are false accusations.
His campaign alleged that over the last two weeks, some residents have received documents alleging that Chu halted an old-age subsidy during his eight-year tenure as Taoyuan County commissioner and that he allowed factories to dump polluted water in Taoyuan rivers.
Speaking of the letters, signed by officials at Tsai’s campaign and a number of DPP city councilor candidates, Chu said he hoped Tsai, a former legal professor, “could maintain a scholar’s conscience and refrain from such actions.”
“[Unfortunately], the DPP has a history of using negative [attacks] in the last few days of any election ... I’m sure that it will happen again” before the election, he said, suggesting that Tsai could not prove her campaign’s allegations.
Officials at Tsai’s campaign have said that Chu’s campaign, which has filed a lawsuit over the documents, should respond truthfully to their assertions because their material is clearly sourced and signed. On the charges that Chu halted the old-age subsidy, the document is also signed by two DPP legislators, Kuo Jung-tsung (郭榮宗) and Huang Jen-shu (黃仁杼).
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS