Keelung Mayor fumbles for words leaving his opponent confused

Keelung Mayor fumbles for words leaving his opponent confused

2026-11-10

Keelung’s Mayoral debates have kicked off! On the 10, the televised debate featured DPP candidate, Tung Tzu-wei attacking current Mayor George Hsieh suggesting that his governance always ranks the lowest. Hsieh fired back saying that Tung’s stance on the proposed Keelung MRT constantly changes and this remained a hot topic during their discussion. One major hiccup was an awkward silence when Hsieh zoned out and did not ask his questions in time which he spoke candidly about afterwards.

The candidates running in Keelung’s Mayoral race shake hands as they get ready to engage in the first televised mayoral debate.

Tung Tzu-wei
Keelung Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
Keelung has been under the rule of Mayor George Hsieh for many years now. Our Keelung city’s governance performance nearly always places last.

George Hsieh
Keelung Mayor
Candidate Tung Tzu-wei’s view on the MRT keeps changing, the DPP just wants to replace the TR with the MRT.

The two sides immediately clashed during the opening statements, but it was during cross-examination that Hsieh stunned everyone.

- And now Mr. Hsieh will ask
Mr. Tung will answer
Questioning time is one minute, please begin

- And now Mr. Tung will answer
You have two minutes, please begin

- Mayor Hsieh didn’t ask anything.

- Apologies, I didn’t read it.

If a question wasn’t asked, how will someone answer? Tung appeared confused as he looked expectantly at Mayor Hsieh. As the Mayor gathered his bearings, the debate came to a standstill in an awkward silence.

George Hsieh
Keelung Mayor
At the time, I was still reading some information, and then the mediator quickly jumped to the next part. The pace is very fast, I was struggling to keep up, but I would recommend the mediator to remind me.

By the time Hsieh finally came to his senses, the damage was done and the memes were made. As Tung posted a screenshot from the debate to his social media, netizens flocked to criticize Hsieh for being unprepared and so “chill.”

Shan Hou-chih
Media professional
Both of you have spoken about the MRT issue for a long time, so I will not ask about it further. What I want to ask is, besides the MRT, what is the policy proposal of your opponent that you most disagree with?

George Hsieh
Keelung Mayor
You are asking what exactly do I disagree with the most regarding the opponent’s policy? I still would like to return to the issue of the MRT.

Hsieh’s obsession with the MRT even frustrated the moderator, but he had one major card to play by quoting a US Senator, James Tarrico.

Love is the stron—strongest force in the universe.
Sorry, my first sentence was a bit…
I will say it again.
Love is the str-strongest force in the universe.

George Hsieh
Keelung Mayor
English pronunciation is like a tongue-twister. So, I had choked on my spit.

Whether Hsieh’s performance during the first Keelung mayoral debate will sit well with voters is yet to be seen.

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