By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plans to hold a three-in-one event in Greater Taichung today to mark the beginning of the second phase of its campaign for the combined presidential and legislative elections in January.
The event, which gathers party heavyweights and representatives from across the nation, combines the party’s congress, the celebration of its Sept. 28 anniversary and a rally to introduce legislative candidates.
It will be the first large rally featuring DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the party’s presidential candidate, and Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), the party’s vice presidential candidate, after Tsai unveiled her running mate on Sept. 9.
Speaking in Yilan yesterday, Tsai said the party would launch full-scale rallies during the second phase of the campaign to build up momentum.
The activity is well-timed as public opinion polls have suggested that Tsai’s 10-day US visit has boosted support for the Tsai-Su ticket. The party is hoping to heat up the campaign atmosphere, which has been described as “cool,” in the location that commentators say could be the battleground of the presidential election
The presidential and vice presidential nominees and party heavyweights, including former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former premiers Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Yu Shyi-kun , are all scheduled to speak at the party congress — which has the theme “Achieve justice, march toward the world” (實現正義，走向世界) — to showcase party unity.
The Tsai campaign also plans to highlight the opportunity for her to become the first female president in Taiwan’s history.
“I believe that Taiwan, as a democracy, is now mature enough to accept a female president and most people would agree that a woman could develop herself into a better leader [than a man],” Tsai said.
Former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), incumbent mayors Chen Chu (陳菊) of Greater Kaohsiung, Helen Chang (張花冠) of Chiayi County and Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of Yunlin County are scheduled to address supporters at the evening rally and discuss achievements made by the DPP in women’s political participation and its emphasis on gender equality.
A “civic marketplace” is planned on the sidelines of the rally, with vendors from local -agricultural sectors, the arts industry and non-governmental organizations selling locally made products.
The marketplace, the DPP said, is to highlight the party’s efforts to revive Taiwan’s agricultural sector and to build up a robust economy — a central theme of Tsai’s economic policy — by encouraging young and local entrepreneurs to devote their energy to developing businesses with local characteristics.
The congress is to be held at Taichung Municipal Shuang Shih Junior High School. The evening rally is to be held at Gan Cheng Park.