KMT presidential candidate tells Taiwan independence supporters to vote for Tsai

Kaohsiung mayor strongly opposes Taiwan independence amid rumors his presidential nomination might be canceled

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/02
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) presidential nominee Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said on

Monday (Sept. 2) that he does not need support from pro-independence voters, urging them to vote for his opponent, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“Those who support Taiwan independence and don't love the Republic of China, please vote for President Tsai Ing-wen,” said Han during a live-streaming session via Facebook on Monday morning. “I don’t want your votes.”

Han’s party is widely considered to be friendly toward China. The DPP, on the other hand, tends to be independence-leaning, which is why Beijing suspended official contact with Taiwan’s government after Tsai took office in May 2016.

In the live stream, the candidate and current Kaohsiung mayor was responding to widespread rumors that the KMT is planning to replace him with Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), as his popularity has plummeted in recent months. Calls upon Gou to run for president have endured even though he was defeated by Han in the party’s primary by a wide margin in July.    [FULL  STORY]