Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative candidates in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday expressed concerns about the KMT’s outlook in the January presidential and legislative elections, accusing the party of not doing enough to support campaign efforts in the area.
The KMT’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting was held at Wei Wu Ying Center for the Arts in Greater Kaohsiung to boost election momentum in the south. Several legislative candidates at the meeting said that the party could suffer in the elections because of poor campaigns.
“The election outlook is not bad, it’s very bad ... The president said the government has invested hundreds of billions in the south, but people in rural towns have not seen it. What voters know about is the NT$316 increase to farmers’ [monthly] pensions, which has become a laughing matter,” KMT Legislator Chung Chao-ho (鍾紹和) said.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
The government’s decision to raise the monthly subsidy for elderly farmers by only NT$316 would have a negative impact on the elections, he said, urging President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to increase the subsidy by at least NT$1,000 in order to gain support among farmers.
KMT legislative candidates Chiu Yu-hsuan (邱于軒) and Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) complained of a lack of communication and campaigning efforts in the area.
“The party did not mobilize supporters when Chiu set up her campaign headquarters and we are seldom informed about the itineraries of the president and the premier. President Ma has only been to our electoral districts several times since his election in 2008,” Lin said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who is expected to top the list of the KMT’s legislator-at-large nominees, acknowledged the party’s electoral outlook in the elections was far from optimistic, as supporter mobilization in southern cities and counties have not met expectations.
“We expect all members to work harder to support President Ma’s re-election bid. On the other hand, the president needs a majority in the legislature to promote government policies and so the legislative elections are equally important as the presidential election,” he said.
Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, stressed his efforts in the development of Greater Kaohsiung, while defending his emphasis on pushing for development in the south.
He listed the government’s construction projects in the special municipality, including the development of the Kaohsiung Multi-Functional Economic and Trade Park and the Underground Railway Project, and said the government would continue to invest in Greater Kaohsiung.
“We have spent more money in Kaohsiung than the former Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] government did. We would not focus on construction in the north and ignore the south. Instead, we are putting more effort into developing areas that are falling behind,” Ma said.
While Chiu and some legislative candidates said the KMT was skimping on campaigning in local areas, they applauded the idea of using talismans as campaign promotions against DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “three little pigs” campaign.
Ma’s re-election campaign office began mass-producing the talismans as a campaign promotional souvenir after the president received amulets from several elderly ladies during his home stay in Greater Taichung over the weekend.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS