Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) yesterday unveiled his first campaign advertisement for the Taipei mayoral election and accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of distorting the DPP’s image.
In the 3D-animated video, Yao, one of the DPP’s Taipei mayoral primary candidates, detailed his plans for the western part of the city, including the reconstruction and renovation of old buildings along the banks of the Tamsui River and the development of an elevated corridor along the river that would resemble New York’s High Line park.
Yao promised urban renewal incentives, including extra floor space for public infrastructure, to encourage reconstruction in the area.
Ko has completed only 1 percent of his promise to revive western Taiwan, that is, demolishing the overpass to Zhongxiao Bridge (忠孝橋) which overshadowed the North Gate (北門), but failed to proceed with the “Taipei Twin Towers” project, the rejuvenation of areas around Taipei Railway Station, and the tour bus lines and a light rail project to connect with Taoyuan Airport MRT, Yao said.
The DPP is considering ending its electoral alliance with Ko as about 70 percent of DPP supporters believe the party should nominate its own candidate this year, Yao said.
Ko has built an image of being non-partisan, while creating the impression that the DPP is as unworthy as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Yao added.
The mayor’s comment at a city council meeting on garbage management that “there is no blue-green divide for garbage” was positively received by voters disappointed with the largely partisan politics of Taiwan, Yao said, adding that the DPP has been misunderstood as trying to compete with the KMT for political gains.
“The challenges [that the DPP] faces might not be the KMT, but [public] misunderstanding,” Yao said.
He also addressed a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) yesterday alleging that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had met privately with Ko, along with several top DPP officials, and discussed a DPP-Ko alliance for the November election.
Yao said he did not know if the meeting took place, although DPP Taipei chapter director Huang Cheng-kuo (黃承國) denied the report.
He added that he respects Tsai and the DPP talking and negotiating with Ko about the election and political ideals.
He said he had met the president on several occasions to discuss the election and his vision for city management, and Tsai commended the creativity of his plans and asked him to improve his campaign efforts and engage voters to catch up with Ko in opinion polls.
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