President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will launch his presidential campaign office by the end of this month, with top aides and young staff members ready to adopt social media as a major tool to attract support from younger voters.
The campaign office will be headed by Ma’s long-term aide, former KMT secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), under the title “Taiwan Go Go Go,” while former presidential office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) will lead the news media, social networking and youth department to enhance communications with the growing number of Internet users.
Younger staff members will also work alongside Ma’s senior aides during the campaign, with the campaign’s two spokespeople both under 35 years old.
Meeting with the press yesterday at the KMT’s headquarters, the two spokespeople, 35-year-old former Central News Agency reporter Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) and 29-year-old Yin Wei (殷瑋), who served as the director of KMT’s youth corps, promised to promote Ma’s major policies and avoid negative campaign ploys.
“We will run a positive presidential election and say ‘no’ to smear campaigns, and we called on the Democratic Progressive Party’s [DPP] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to join us in a gentleman’s battle for the interests of Taiwan,” Lee said.
Lee, whose resignation took effect yesterday, said she would spare no effort to promote the KMT’s policies and Ma’s campaign platform. Yin, on the other hand, challenged the former DPP government over its failure to address public policies constructively, and said the office would focus their campaign efforts on promoting reforms and changes that would make the nation a better place.
The personnel announcement at Ma’s presidential campaign office came as the DPP officially nominated Tsai as its presidential candidate.
Ma, 61, will campaign under the slogan “Keep on walking, Taiwan. Victory for Taiwan.” The KMT said the campaign office will recruit more personnel as the office will be opened by the end of this month in the Bade Building, next to the KMT’s headquarters.
Top KMT members and former government officials, including KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤), KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and former Department of Health minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) will help organize campaign events nationwide.
Presidential Office spokesman Fang Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基), who took over the post from Lo yesterday, said the Presidential Office will work with the KMT and Ma’s campaign office closely to promote the government’s policies after the campaign office is formally established.
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