Keelung mayoral candidates Tsai and Hsieh pull in presidents to boost campaigns

Keelung mayoral candidates Tsai and Hsieh pull in presidents to boost campaigns

2022-11-17

The race for Keelung continues to heat up as both the DPP and KMT mayoral candidates brought in current and former presidents Thursday to help boost their campaigns. As President Tsai Ing-wen promoted fellow party candidate Tsai Shih-ying at the city’s soon-to-be-completed transit station, KMT rival Hsieh Kuo-liang canvassed Keelung with former President Ma Ying-jeou. Both candidates seem to be pulling out all the stops as Election Day approaches.

Keelung’s intercity transit station is nearing completion. Early Thursday, President Tsai Ing-wen came to inspect the site. During her remarks there, she promoted the DPP candidate for mayor of Keelung, Tsai Shih-ying, thanking him on behalf of the city’s people.

Tsai Ying-wen
President
Six years ago, after Tsai Shih-Ying took office as a legislator, his first meeting was to coordinate the site of our intercity transit station. At that time, his office was still being decorated and his business cards were not even printed, but he was already fighting for its construction for Keelung citizens.

Tsai Shih-ying’s KMT opponent, Hsieh Kuo-liang, also played the presidential card, and invited former President Ma Ying-jeou to join him as he canvassed for votes.

Hsieh Kuo-liang
Keelung mayoral candidate (KMT)
I believe that President Ma has helped us very much. The other party is afraid of being overwhelmed. They’re afraid, so today they asked their President Tsai to come and assist.

Tsai Shih-ying
Keelung mayoral candidate (DPP)
When Ma was in power, Keelung was in last place among Taiwan’s cities. The transport minister appointed by Ma Ying-jeou had harshly criticized Keelung’s urban development. I don’t know if my opponent called in Ma to remind the people of Keelung that he was one of the butchers who messed up the city before.

Lin Yu-chang
Keelung Mayor
In the past, Keelung was a city abandoned by the KMT during its rule. Although the KMT had total power at the central and local levels, it was stingy in giving resources to the city, so Keelung’s debt increased by NT$10 billion in the ten years before I took office.

With days to go before the election, both camps are pulling out all the stops in order to win supporters.

激戰! 蔡適應.謝國樑推"總統牌雙英對決"

2022-11-17

基隆市長選情緊繃，民進黨和國民黨今天(17日)，雙雙請出總統牌拉抬聲勢！國民黨候選人謝國樑，請來前總統馬英九輔選，酸對手蔡適應，怕氣勢被壓過，才會請蔡總統來站台協助。不過，蔡適應也批評謝國樑，找馬總統來站台，難道是要提醒基隆市民，馬英九就是搞爛基隆的劊子手嗎？

基隆城際轉運站即將完工，總統蔡英文一早來現場視察，致詞時不忘拉抬民進黨基隆市長候選人蔡適應，替基隆人感謝他。

[[總統蔡英文]]
“六年前我們蔡適應委員上任以後，第一個協調會，就是協調我們城際轉運站的用地，那個時候他的辦公室還在裝潢，名片也都還沒有印，他就已經為我們基隆市民爭取建設了”

蔡適應對手謝國樑，同樣打出總統牌，請來前總統馬英九，陪同掃街跟造勢。

[[基隆市長候選人(國) 謝國樑]]
“我相信這個一定是馬總統對我們的幫助非常大，對方怕氣勢被壓過去，所以才今天(17日)請他們的蔡總統來協助他(蔡適應)”

[[基隆市長候選人(民) 蔡適應]]
“過去馬英九執政的時代，基隆作為全國最後一名的城市，馬英九任命的交通部的部長，曾經大肆批評基隆市的城市發展，我不曉得我的對手找了馬英九來，是要提醒基隆市市民說，過去基隆市被搞爛的這個狀況，馬英九就是其中的劊子手之一嗎”

[[基隆市長林右昌]]
“過去基隆在國民黨執政時期，是被國民黨放棄的城市，雖然國民黨在中央地方完全執政，但對基隆卻吝於給予資源，所以基隆在我執政之前的十年，負債增加100億”

選戰倒數，雙方陣營出動總統級大咖輔選，就看誰能獲得更多選民認同。

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At a press conference held by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to report on the situation in Ukraine, the media was also eager to know Milley’s thoughts on whether Chinese leader Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan.

Mark Milley
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As best I can tell, he’s a rational actor, and I think he would conclude that an attack on Taiwan in the near future would be an excessive amount of risk and it would end in a strategic debacle for the Chinese military.

Milley believes that Xi will make a decision that is in China’s national interest. After all, Taiwan has an easily defensible strait and rugged natural terrain.

Mark Milley
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That is a very difficult military task to do. You’ve got a large city of Taipei with 3 or 4 million people with suburbs of about 7 million people. You’ve got very complex terrain of mountains. Most of Taiwan is mountainous. So it’s a very difficult military objective.

Milley also remarked on China’s lack of actual combat experience.

Mark Milley
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For a military that hasn’t fought in combat since fighting the Vietnamese in 1979, they would be playing a very, very dangerous game to cross the straits and invade the island of Taiwan.

Milley also used the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example, saying that it would be a strategic and geopolitical mistake if China imitated Putin and took action against Taiwan. He also emphasized that the U.S. military is fully prepared.

Mark Milley
US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff
And I think it would be unwise, it would be a political mistake, a geopolitical mistake, a strategic mistake. I can tell you that we’re watching closely, we are militarily prepared, and one of the keys now is to make sure that Taiwan can defend itself.

Reports say Xi could attempt to unify Taiwan by force by 2027. However, according to Milley, Xi’s plans are nothing but a dream.

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Foxconn finds more than 70,000 new workers after mass COVID exodus in China complex

Reports say an iPhone assembly factory owned by Taiwanese multinational manufacturer Foxconn could return to operating at full capacity by the end of the month. The reports come after a mass exodus of workers earlier this month at the plant, which is located in China’s Zhengzhou City. COVID had been detected in the factory complex, and workers say they were afraid of being infected with the disease and getting locked down in isolation at the site. Already, through a series of subsidies and enticements, the company has attracted more than 70,000 new workers in just one week.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Foxconn workers fled from the company’s factory complex in Zhengzhou city in China’s Henan province. Since then, the company has offered four sets of subsidies and salary raises to lure workers back. The Henan government has ordered civil servants to go to the factory to help out for up to half a year.

Huang Junwei
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They can help themselves to warm rice, and they can get disinfecting wipes, and face masks for free. That’s what we’re providing to all the new workers moving in.

Foxconn worker
I’m getting 12,100 yuan (NT$52,000). That means I need to work for 30 days without being late, taking leave, being absent, or leaving early. That’s the only way I can get the 12,100 yuan.

On Chinese social media, a worker shares what his daily life is like, showing that some people are willing to accept the conditions. Though just as many find the conditions deplorable, Foxconn has managed to attract more than 70,000 new workers in just one week. The factory complex, which is an important assembly line for Apple’s iPhone, could return to full capacity operations in late November, according to reports.

Yang Jui-lin
ITRI
This of course could create some opportunities for Foxconn’s competitors to jump in. Perhaps they won’t expand their factories in China, and instead look to expand in other areas.

After the exodus of workers, financial services company Morgan Stanley revised its expectations for iPhone deliveries in the fourth quarter down to 79 million units. That’s a cut of 6 million phones, or a drop of 7%.

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Children play with artificial snow in this igloo. For the first time, organizers of the annual New Taipei Christmasland have built one of these icy homes for children to play in and snap pictures.

Children can also ride the merry-go-round at this Christmas extravaganza that’s put on by the New Taipei city government each year. During the festival, the plaza in front of city hall and a nearby park become the stage for light shows and installations featuring Disney characters. Even in the morning, the plaza is packed with people. Many wanted to come early to avoid nighttime crowds.

Member of public
There are more people at night, not so many in the morning. I’m afraid of something like what happened in South Korea.

Member of public
I want to bring my children to play here because it is Disney-themed. My children like Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters very much.

Member of public
My favorite character is Spiderman.

Member of the Public
Visiting in the morning was not bad. I walked around and felt that this year’s Christmas will be different from before. I just went to the New Taipei City observation

Stephany Yang
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The annual Christmasland has kicked off. Besides light shows and concerts, visitors can also visit the Christmas market where they can buy food, acessories, and play games.

Now in its 12th edition, Christmasland presents the country’s largest light projection show every year. This year’s show will be held in the square in front of the city government building. The theme of the festival will be Disney+. In addition, it will play a show inspired by the Northern Lights. Also at the venue, there will be artificial snow shows and a Christmas market to buy snacks and trinkets.

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Christmasland has become one of the top 50 Christmas events in the world. It’s the best place. To be able to hold this event here for such a long time is an honor for our city’s brand. This wasn’t easy to do. There are six famous brands represented here, including Disney, Pixar, National Geographic and Star Wars.

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Two DPP lawmakers on Thursday held a press conference, saying that Simon Chang, the KMT’s mayoral candidate for Taoyuan, had not always supported plans to bring the railway tracks underground in the city. The lawmakers say that while Chang was in the Executive Yuan, he had issued a document that greatly limited financial aid from the central government for such a project, effectively shooting down the proposal. The lawmakers say that goes against Chang’s current claims that he had worked toward such an infrastructure overhaul.

Two DPP lawmakers are accusing the KMT mayoral candidate for Taoyuan, Simon Chang, of being a liar. Chang in recent days has stated that when he was vice premier, he supported proposals to bring the railway tracks in Taoyuan underground. The lawmakers say that according to documents from the time, Chang is not telling the truth.

The document states that the central government would offer a subsidy of NT$19.975 billion for plans to elevate the railway tracks. It adds that, should the plan change to bring the tracks underground instead, the subsidy amount would remain the same, despite the higher costs. Lo and Huang say that, with an estimated cost of around NT$100 billion to bring the tracks underground, Taoyuan would have had to foot a bill of more than NT$80 billion for the project.

Lo Chih-cheng
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There isn’t a single local government that would be able to pay NT$80 billion on its own. So to put things simply, it was an indirect way to shoot the project down. Or perhaps not so indirect, telling the local government that the Executive Yuan would not support such a plan. Now that Simon Chang is running in the election, he’s tried to give a spin to this document. But we’ve realized that his explanations don’t add up.

Huang Shih-chieh
DPP lawmaker
Had Mr. Simon Chang not had been in the Executive Yuan to put this NT$80 billion financial obstacle to block the project to bring the tracks underground, then we wouldn’t have needed such a long time to discuss everything again with the transport ministry and National Development Council.

The lawmakers also showed footage of an interpellation session in 2016, where Chang was asked to comment on Taoyuan’s industrial sector. Then, he had replied that he didn’t know much about the local industry. The lawmakers questioned whether Chang was fit to be mayor of the special municipality.

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Surveys by media around the world claim that this “laughing with tears coming out” is the most popular emoji worldwide. Second place is for the “red heart,” and third is that old favorite, “rolling on the floor laughing.” Perhaps surprisingly, national flags also feature high up on the rankings.

Among the 51 countries of Europe, 19 feature in the most used, including the Ukrainian flag, which has grown popular as a way to express support for Ukraine as it resists the Russian invasion.

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"Farewell Beitou" tells a story set in the 1960s, written by acclaimed director Wu Nien-jen and award-winning songwriter Chen Ming-chang. The story was greatly inspired by a hot spring hotel in Chen’s childhood, and many of Chen’s signature song pieces are integrated into the plot.

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