Protest Against Gang Ruling in Nantou 南投選情緊繃 「黑道治縣 你甘願嗎」現街頭

The Nantou county governement recently took down a campaign banner based on the Waste Disposal Act. As a result, DPP county magistrate candidate Tsai Pei-hui called the EPA a political tool in the election.

Banners saying "Are gangs ruling Nantou now? Is that acceptable?" can be seen in Jiji, Zhushan, and Puli townships of Nantou County. Protesters formed a group called "Nantou Upgrade Supporters" to campaign for a party switch in Nantou. The Nantou County Government deemed the group as an illegal social organization that has not registered with relevant authorities and therefore asked the local environmental protection bureau to remove the banners. So far, 250 banners have been removed. Current Nantou County Magistrate Lin Ming-chen said he's been ranked as a five-star magistrate and the banners are an insult to Nantou and its people.

Lin Ming-chen, Nantou County Magistrate: “Saying that Nantou is headed by criminal gangs is such an insult to Nantou residents. I've been the county magistrate for eight years. I'm not a gang member; I've been ranked by the Global Views Monthly magazine as a five-star county magistrate. This gang-ruling talk is nonsense.”

Spokesperson Chen Chi-heng from DPP magistrate candidate Frida Tsai's election campaign headquarter said that both Lin and KMT magistrate candidate Hsu Shu-hua are taking those banners too personally. He said many other banners and bulletins with slogans and opinions on the election exist in Nantou, but only the ones put up by the "Nantou Upgrade Supporters" group got removed. The local government is seeking support in action from the environmental protection bureau, Chen said.

Chen Chi-heng, Spokesperson, Frida Tsai Election Campaign Headquarters: “Let's take at this bulletin. We don't know who wrote it and yet the environmental protection bureau did not remove it. What are the standards? It seems to be entirely up to the bureau's own discretion.”

The Nantou County Government responded by saying that they are only removing banners and bulletins that are in violation of the Waste Disposal Act to keep the environment clean. Frida Tsai said the local government should maintain administrative neutrality and it's not right to pressure the environmental protection bureau. 

南投縣集集、竹山、埔里等地的街頭，最近出現「黑道治縣你甘願嗎」的黑色布條，訴求11月26日換黨換人做做看，最後署名為南投升級後援會。南投縣府認定該後援會並非合法立案團體，因此由環保局展開拆除作業，目前已拆除250條布條。縣長林明溱強調自己是五星級首長，布條的指控是對縣民的汙辱。

南投縣長林明溱表示：「這個黑道治縣對我們南投縣民是一個汙辱，尤其你看縣長當了8年來，縣長又不是黑道，同時也經過遠見雜誌的評鑑縣長也是5顆星的縣長，哪裡來的黑道。」

不過民進黨縣長候選人蔡培慧競總批評，縣長林明溱與國民黨縣長候選人許淑華搶著對號入座，南投市內有許多沒有署名的看板，就沒有積極明快的處理，並且讓環保局成為輔選機器的打手。

民進黨南投縣長候選人蔡培慧競總發言人陳紀衡指出：「它這一份我們舉例的這個大型廣告看板，任何署名都沒有，環保局有去拆除嗎，沒有，他的執法標準環保局說了算。」

縣府表示，拆除布條是依照廢棄物清理法第27條，以汙染環境衛生的名義針對不署名的布條拆除，一切依法辦理。蔡培慧陣營則呼籲，縣府應秉持行政中立，不要為難公務員。