Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), when greeting the first ray of sunshine of the new year yesterday morning in Taitung County, called on people to vote for him and the TPP “to let Taiwan break away from corruption and embrace new hope.”
At Taitung’s seaside Jialulan Recreation Area, Ko said Taiwan has had three transfers of power in the past 24 years, and that Taiwanese have always believed that a change in ruling party would allow the nation to break away from historic burdens and become more democratic, progressive and prosperous.
However, power leads to corruption, and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have both made empty campaign promises, repeatedly letting people down and causing them to lose hope in reform and progress, he said.
Photo: CNA
“The upcoming election is not purely about choosing a president, but there are also many long-term, tough questions that have accumulated and need to be dealt with, including energy transformation, population crisis and the conflict between two sides of the [Taiwan] Strait,” Ko said. “It will decide what kind of country and future we want to create.”
He urged voters who believe in “rationality, practicality and science,” as well as “public opinion, professionalism and values,” to vote for him on election day.
The TPP chairman wrote on Facebook that he arrived at the seaside park before sunrise and stood there with hundreds of people to greet the first ray of sunshine of the new year, to play witness to the proverb that “every cloud has a silver lining” and that Taiwan could have a bright future.
Separately, the TPP yesterday held a nationwide campaign event, urging their supporters — with the self-proclaimed nickname “small grass,” meaning that they are grassroots supporters — to bring their own slogan boards or props and stand by one of 17 designated road sections from northern to southern Taiwan at 1pm yesterday.
Ko arrived at the designated road section in Pingtung County yesterday and was passionately greeted by supporters, with many giving him high-fives when he walked by and many later queuing to take a picture with him.
Additional reporting by CNA
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