Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) campaign office yesterday neither confirmed nor denied a schedule released by his supporters, which shows that he is to embark on a nationwide campaign trip tomorrow.
The schedule, which has been circulating among Han’s supporters for several days, suggests that Han, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, is to begin the trip in Pingtung County’s Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and spend the first three days in the county.
Asked to confirm the schedule, Han’s campaign office spokeswoman Ho Ting-huan (何庭歡) said that the office would release it as soon as the trip is confirmed.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Asked when he would begin the trip, Han said that he would follow government regulations when taking time off and quickly walked away.
Many reporters complained that Han’s campaign office is giving them little time to prepare for his trip.
The rumored trip also drew criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung city councilors, who said they would not agree to the mayor taking time off to campaign for the Jan. 11 election.
DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) said he believes that Han is planning to take leave for nearly three months, starting today, and if he does, he would be abandoning Kaohsiung and its residents.
While on leave, Han should be banned from using his monthly mayoral allowance of NT$140,000, because he would not be doing his job during that time, DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Chien Huan-tsung (簡煥宗) said.
Han would take unpaid leave and would not receive a mayoral allowance while campaigning, the Kaohsiung City Government said.
In other developments, Han’s campaign office yesterday announced that former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), KMT Central Standing Committee member Yao Chiang-ling (姚江臨) and KMT Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) would be serving as deputy directors-general of Han’s campaign headquarters.
Asked whether he would head the campaign, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that he would be willing to serve as the honorary head.
As KMT chairman, he is already occupied with legislative campaigns and other affairs, he said, adding that KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) is the director-general of the campaign headquarters, so the headquarters already has access to the party’s full support.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
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