The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized the Chinese National Party (KMT) for requesting to change the broadcaster of an upcoming televised presidential debate, saying the KMT is using delaying tactics to evade public scrutiny.
Former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who was named KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) campaign manager yesterday, said that he supported the KMT in demanding the debate be held by a group of six media outlets — the Taiwan Braodcasting Service (TBS), the Central News Agency, the Apple Daily, the China Times, the United Daily News and the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) — as presidential debates have been conventionally held over the past 12 years, instead of switching the host to Sanlih Entertainment Television (SET-TV).
Hu said that he could not accept the idea of establishing a new tradition by having the SET-TV host the debate, adding that he hopes the debate could be successfully organized to meet public expectations.
DPP spokesperson Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) said the DPP expressed regrets and confusion over the KMT’s deliberate postponing of the debate and breaking of an agreement to participate in a TV debate to be coordinated by SET-TV.
SET-TV offered to hold the debate prior to TBS, and the KMT agreed to the SET-TV’s hosting and issued a press release to confirm the agreement in August, after the People First Party had done so, but the KMT went back on its word and delayed the organizing process by proposing to have the TPT host the debate, Juan said.
Sources said that the KMT is pressuring relevant organizations to schedule the debate for Friday next week and create a false impression that the DPP would be absent from the debate, Juan said, calling on the KMT to clarify the rumor.
DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) earlier yesterday said that the parties had agreed to the SET-TV organizing the debate in August, calling on the KMT not to retract agreements reached before Chu replaced Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the party’s presidential candidate in October.
Tsai said her campaign team has been preparing for the presidential debate and campaign events for nearly a month, and the team would be working at a faster pace to research individual issues.
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