With Saturday’s elections entering the final countdown phase, heavyweights from both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were busy criss-crossing the nation to drum up support for their candidates.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, was in Keelung and Yilan yesterday morning to accompany party candidates canvassing streets for votes before returning to Taipei in the afternoon for KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) parade.
Later yesterday, he traveled to Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County to campaign for party candidates before showing up at Taoyuan mayoral candidate John Wu’s (吳志揚) rally last night.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), was in Changhua canvassing votes for KMT Changhua County commissioner candidate Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏) before travelling to Yunlin County to stump for KMT Yunlin County commissioner candidate Chang Li-shan (張麗善).
As for the DPP, Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday led the northern Taiwan canvassing group heading out of Yilan County, accompanied by Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢), who is seeking re-election, and New Taipei City mayoral candidate Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) and DPP Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), to visit Keelung, Taipei and New Taipei City.
Meanwhile, in southern Taiwan, former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) led Pingtung County commissioner candidate Pan Men-an (潘孟安) as they canvassed for votes on the streets on their way north.
Photo: CNA
Today, the DPP plans for three routes, with Tsai again leading the northern Taiwan group, starting from Taoyuan with Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), before meeting up with Hsinchu mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) and canvassing the city.
Tsai will then rendezvous with Taichung mayoral candidate Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in the afternoon in Greater Taichung for campaign events, the party said.
The party said the second group, headed by Hsieh, will start in Changhua County to canvass votes for Changhua County commissioner candidate Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷) before visiting Nantou County.
The third route will be headed by former party secretary-general Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) accompanying Nantou County commissioner candidate Lee Wen-chung (李文忠).
All three groups are expected to meet at Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) for a grand rally to boost the morale of the party’s supporters in central Taiwan, in the hopes that the party will achieve an overwhelming victory in the region, the party said.
Tsai will then visit Hsinchu City after the grand rally in Caotun and make an appearance at Cheng’s rallies at Pingjhen (平鎮) and Longtan (龍潭) townships in Taoyuan tonight, it added.
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