New Taipei City not to hold Double Ten flag ceremony

By Ann Maxon / Staff reporter





The New Taipei City Government will not hold a flag-raising ceremony for Double Ten National Day tomorrow, despite instructions from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) headquarters to do so, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday.

The KMT on Monday asked all of its mayors and county commissioners to hold such ceremonies and New Taipei City held them for the past two years.

Hou said the city has other celebration plans for tomorrow and it would hold a flag raising ceremony on Jan. 1.

New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi talks to reporters yesterday in the city. Photo: CNA

New Taipei City Department of Civil Affairs Director Ko Ching-chung (柯慶忠) told the city council that the city is sponsoring a hike on Guanyinshan (觀音山), with Hou leading a group of city officials carrying Republic of China flags to Yinghan Peak (硬漢嶺).

Hou yesterday also reiterated that his priority is running the city, when asked again if he would head a campaign office for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-Yu (韓國瑜), the KMT’s presidential candidate.

The KMT headquarters instructed all KMT mayors and commissioners to head the party’s campaign office for Han in their areas.

Hou said that nobody acted as his campaign office head when he ran for mayor last year.

He considered the city’s residents as the head of his campaign office and their wishes are now his priorities, he said.

“The head of a campaign office is just a title,” he said, adding that the most important thing is to put the public first.

Hou supports Han’s presidential bid, although it might be in a different way, Han’s campaign office spokesman Ye Yuan-zhi (葉元之) said.

Hou might not serve as head of Han’s campaign office in New Taipei City, but he can ask residents to support Han, Ye said.

KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) on Monday urged party members to establish local campaign offices and fan clubs for Han as soon as possible, Ye said.

Han’s campaign headquarters would be established in Kaohsiung early next month, he said.

While former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was criticized for hugging and shaking hands with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) — who lost to to Han in the KMT presidential primary — at an event on Sunday, Ye said he believes Ma was “networking for Han.”

Additional reporting by Ho Yu-hua