Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday announced that he was resigning as a legislator as a demonstration of his unwavering determination to win the election.
“Taipei has been stagnant for eight years, and it cannot afford to stand still any more as we are facing a fast-changing world,” he said while campaigning at a traditional market in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投).
KMT Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華), Chiang’s campaign manager, said that Chiang would from now on fully concentrate on campaigning for the mayoral election to win voters’ approval.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Asked about the announcement, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said that Chiang made his decision based on his political judgement.
“I do not have any particular feeling about his resignation because his functions in the Legislative Yuan are not indispensable,” Chen said.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), Chen’s campaign manager, said that voters can clearly see the move was nothing more than a campaign tactic.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“When asked whether he would resign, Chiang on Wednesday compared his situation to cooking rice, which when cooked, needs to be left a little longer for it to taste good. Then, he gave up his legislative seat within 24 hours,” she said. “I think that Chiang resigned because he sensed that his campaign had gone south. Fearing that he would be soon overtaken by his rivals, he used a drastic measure in a bid to regain an advantage.”
Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that Chiang’s move came a bit too late.
“I tendered my resignation as Taipei deputy mayor soon after I announced in August that I was running for Taipei mayor. Chiang announced his mayoral bid in May. His resigning now is just for show,” Huang said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“I believe Taipei residents neither favor pan-blue nor pan-green politicians. They already have in mind who would be the best Taipei mayor,” she said.
“Taipei is too important to be a training ground for two years to be a mayor,” she said, taking a jibe at criticism that Chiang lacks administrative experience.
The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday called for 11 other legislators who are running in the Nov. 26 elections to follow Chiang and tender their resignation.
“Serving as a legislator while campaigning for election will definitely compromise the quality of their bills,” NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said. “It is unreasonable that they get government-issued campaign funds while still being paid as legislators.”
The NPP urged voters to reject candidates with criminal records or who are suspected of election bribery.
Statistics from the Taiwan Anti-Corruption and Whistleblower Protection Association showed that 193 candidates for city and county councilors as well as township representatives have criminal records, including 65 KMT candidates, 35 DPP candidates and 11 from other parties, it said.
As of last month, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has accepted 1,433 election bribery cases involving 3,144 suspects, it said.
Among the 1,433 cases, 362 were reported in September and 826 were reported last month, it said.
Additional reporting by Wang Chien-hao and Ho Yu-hua
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