The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday accused Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) of having double standards in their reactions to crime in Kaohsiung under the administrations of Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
Chen, of the Democratic Progressive Party, was elected mayor in a by-election on Aug. 15 last year after Han, of the KMT, was removed from office following a recall vote on June 6.
From January to last month, 17 major crimes occurred in the city, KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In 2019, when Han was in office, Hsu and National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) went to Kaohsiung out of concern about the crime rate in the city, she said.
Su told reporters at the time that it was “not inappropriate” for central government officials to visit local jurisdictions to offer assistance, Wang said.
With Chen Chi-mai now in office, there has been a huge change in Hsu’s and Su’s attitude, she said.
Hsu said he was in contact with local authorities by telephone, while Su said public satisfaction with public security and their confidence in the police had grown, and that “sudden public safety incidents, crimes of passion and revengeful killings are hard to avoid,” the KMT said in a statement.
The premier’s comments are designed to “protect Chen Chi-mai,” Wang said, calling his remarks “irresponsible” and “unfair to Kaohsiung residents.”
“Many residents are asking: ‘What happened to Kaohsiung?’” KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Mei-ya (陳美雅) said.
The mayor has not come up with a solution to the city’s deteriorating public security, she said, adding that the recent incidents have been “very damaging” to Kaohsiung’s image.
As long as illegal guns exist in Kaohsiung, its residents live in insecurity, KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Shao-ting (黃紹庭) said, urging the mayor and Kaohsiung Police Department Commissioner Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) to formulate a strategy to improve public security immediately.
Asked when he would visit the south, Hsu yesterday told reporters that he often does without informing the press.
“We regret every public security incident,” Hsu said, adding that police would aim to do better.
Chen Chi-mai wrote on Facebook yesterday that “there is only one standard for public security, and that is to let residents [feel] at ease.”
The Kaohsiung City Government and Police Department are working together to “demonstrate their determination to combat violence and prevent major public security incidents,” he added.
Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju and CNA
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