Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) is not asking people to ditch the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to help the People First Party (PFP) become the third-largest party in the Legislative Yuan, PFP legislator-at-large candidate Amanda Liu (劉宥彤) said yesterday, adding that Gou’s team aims to maximize the power of third parties.
“Gou clearly stated on Sunday that pan-green camp voters could consider voting for the TPP in the party ballot if they cannot support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) this time,” said Liu, who was a spokeswoman for Gou while he was contesting the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary.
“He also called for support for the PFP from pan-blue camp voters if they are disappointed by the KMT’s performance,” she said.
Photo: CNA
“For moderate voters fearing that the DPP would seize an absolute majority in the Legislative Yuan again, he said that they should really consider supporting the PFP,” Liu said. “I believe he would maintain this position for election day.”
Liu made the statement before joining other PFP candidates to canvass for votes from campaign vehicles.
Despite failing to secure the KMT’s nomination, Gou continued to exert his influence on politics in Taiwan by having aides enter legislative races and supporting candidates of other parties who have aligned themselves with Gou’s camp.
Evelyn Tsai (蔡沁瑜) and Ann Kao (高虹安), also former Gou aides, are legislator-at-large candidates for the PFP and the TPP respectively.
Gou would try everything to help the PFP garner more party votes, from recording mobilization messages for robocalls to canvassing for votes on the streets, Liu said, adding that they would step up campaign efforts in Taipei and New Taipei City to show that the PFP is the party that can counterbalance the KMT and the DPP.
The principle that governs the strategy of Gou’s team is to maximize the force of third parties in the Legislative Yuan, she said, adding that Gou would spend more time campaigning for the PFP, because it needs to work harder to secure more votes from moderate voters who lean toward the pan-blue camp.
Gou’s team and the PFP would further integrate campaign resources in the days remaining before the elections, so voters would see a different PFP, she said.
Gou’s team and the TPP have jointly nominated Richie Lee (李縉穎) to contest the legislative seat for New Taipei City’s Tucheng (土城) and Sansia (三峽) districts, and the team and the PFP worked to nominate former KMT Youth League secretary-general Lee Zheng-hao (李正皓) to run in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和).
The two Lees are perfect examples of maximizing the power of third parties by combining the PFP, the TPP and independent candidates, Liu said, adding that they would help fulfill Gou’s promise to build a high-tech corridor in northern Taiwan.
PFP vice presidential candidate Sandra Yu (余湘) said that Gou’s robocall message would boost votes for the party, as he has a lot of supporters.
PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), its presidential candidate, and Yu started canvassing votes nationwide yesterday, the party said.
“Our experience from contacting voters in person is that approximately 20 percent of people have yet to decide how they are going to vote,” PFP Department of Mobilization Director Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said. “They are generally young and remain undecided because they dislike Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) [the KMT’s presidential candidate] and are disappointed with the DPP government.”
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