Keelung mayor supporters, recall campaigners rally before Sunday vote

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and several opposition Kuomintang (KMT) figures campaigned for Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) in the port city Saturday ahead of a recall vote on Sunday.

Han and independent Legislator Kao Chin Su-mei (高金素梅) accompanied Hsieh on a visit to the city god Cheng Huang temple Saturday afternoon, during the campaign encouraging supporters to vote no in the recall vote the next day.

"Has he been corrupt? Has he failed in his duty? Has he been lazy? Did he run for president?" asked Han, a former Kaohsiung mayor who was recalled following a failed presidential bid in 2020.

The speaker also asked voters to look at the core issue that led to the recall campaign.

When accompanying Hsieh during a visit to a different temple in Keelung, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said one of the arguments presented by the groups that initiated the recall vote was the ownership of Keelung E-Square Mall, which she characterized as completely unreasonable.

The city government took over the city government-owned mall earlier this year to protect Keelung's assets, and there is no grounds for a contract operator to claim ownership, Lu added.

She urged people in Keelung to come out to ensure Taiwan's political stability, by rejecting the recall campaign that she said has been a source of chaos in society and the country.

Hsieh took up the position of Keelung mayor on Dec. 25, 2022. He was a three-term legislator representing Keelung between 2005 and 2016.

Meanwhile, Hsieh's predecessor, Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), said when taking part in a religious event in New Taipei that the recall was initiated because of Hsieh's failure to deliver on his policies.

Lin called on Hsieh and the KMT to address the demands of civic groups, instead of viewing the recall campaign as a political matter.

Several figures behind the campaign to recall Han, who became the first ever mayor of a municipality to be removed from office in June 2020, joined rallies organized by supporters of the campaign to recall Hsieh in Keelung Saturday.

Arron Yin (尹立), a former DPP cultural bureau head in Kaohsiung and one of the leading figures to push for the recall of Han, said in Keelung that Han was not recalled just for running for president during his first year as Kaohsiung mayor, but also because he did not contribute to the development of Kaohsiung.

It is bizarre for a recalled mayor to campaign for Hsieh, Yin said.

Tai Ching-an (戴璟安), one of the people leading the recall campaign in Keelung, said local residents simply want Hsieh to listen to them, not just his own small circle.

"Keelung does not only belong to supporters of Hsieh Kuo-liang," Tai said, sharing what he wanted to tell Hsieh with reporters.

The recall vote will be held on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 310,797 registered Keelung residents are eligible to vote, according to the Keelung City Election Commission.

In addition to the requirement that ballots cast to support the recall need to outnumber those against the recall proposal, a minimum of 25 percent of registered voters (over 77,700 votes) also need to support the recall vote for it to pass, according to the commission.