KMT, DPP candidates for Kaohsi0ung mayor court voters at TV forum

详细摘要

The Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates for Kaohsiung mayor clashed over city funding at a televised policy forum Saturday, even as both pledged to carry on parts of outgoing Mayor Chen Chi-mai's (陳其邁) agenda.

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) The Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates for Kaohsiung mayor clashed over city funding at a televised policy forum Saturday, even as both pledged to carry on parts of outgoing Mayor Chen Chi-mai's (陳其邁) agenda.

KMT lawmaker Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) pitched herself as a mayor who would govern across party lines, while DPP lawmaker Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) made continuing Chen's work central to his campaign.

"I will go beyond party lines and be a mayor for all Kaohsiung residents," Ko told reporters after the forum.

Ko lost to Chen in 2022, receiving 529,607 votes, or 40.16 percent, to his 766,147 votes, or 58.10 percent. At Saturday's forum, she credited her former rival with promoting chipmaking and artificial intelligence investment, saying she would carry on that work while setting up a fund to help traditional industries.

To make the case for a change of party at City Hall, Ko cited illegal waste dumping in Meinong District as an example of what she described as weak oversight under prolonged DPP rule.

The DPP held the mayoralty from 1998 until the KMT's Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) won in 2018. Chen returned the city to DPP control by winning a 2020 by-election after Han was recalled.

Lai credited Chen and previous mayors with transforming Kaohsiung and asked voters to let him carry their work forward. "Choose the right person and stay on the right path, and Kaohsiung will get better," he said.

His transport proposals included speeding up extensions of the city's metro network. Under a separate "one airport, three centers" plan, Lai proposed an offshore airport that could operate around the clock, along with initiatives to strengthen the semiconductor industry, expand AI computing capacity and train workers in partnership with universities.

Lai also proposed building on Chen's efforts to attract major concerts by encouraging fans to spend more time in Kaohsiung.

文章开头，摘自Focus Taiwan (CNA)。如需阅读全文，请前往媒体网站。