Ting Wins Rights to Ketagalan on Election Eve|選前之夜路權 柯競辦遭駁回.丁搶下凱道

Following the Puyuma Express derailment accident, the pan-blue and pan-green camps suspended campaign events for a few days. The campaigning restarted on Oct. 25. On the night of Oct. 24, candidates could start applying for road rights for the night before the election. The camp of Kuomintang Taipei City mayor candidate Ting Shou-chung got the most popular location, Ketagalan Boulevard. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City mayor candidate Pasuya Yao said his focus is on the "golden weekend" before the election on Nov. 18. Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je's campaign team, meanwhile, is rumored to have tried to start the application process ahead of time only to be rejected by the New Construction Office.


Registration for road usage rights on Nov. 23, or the eve of the local elections, opened on the morning of Oct 24. According to reports, Ko Wen-je's campaign team tried to register one day ahead of time. The application was dismissed by the New Construction Office. Ko says this kind of problem is inevitable when you try to assemble a car on the spot.

Because of the kind of campaign office we have -- you know, we hired people from all over. Our staff was assembled quickly, and that's the kind of problem that pops up, because they are not very professional and lack professional experience.

The pan-blue camp's Taipei City mayor candidate, Ting Shou-chung, secured the rights to the top location, Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office. Afterwards, Ting criticized Ko for knowingly breaking the law.

Mayor Ko's office tried to get the rights to City Hall Plaza before registration even opened. They willfully broke the law and their application was rejected. Mayor Ko has a history of willfully breaking the law and getting fined. He is not exactly setting a good example.

I'm not sure yet (about the venue). Our aides will handle this in the next few days. We are focusing on Nov. 18 right now. I think the venue for the golden weekend and event planning and turnout are more important than what happens on the eve of the election.

The Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei City mayor candidate, Pasuya Yao, canceled a concert after the Puyuma Express derailment. He says his focus is on the "super weekend" before the election and he will hold large-scale events to rally his supporters.