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2012 ELECTIONS: DPP,
KMT fight over Ketagalan permits
¡¥SNEAKY ACTS¡¦: The DPP said it was only able to
get a permit to hold a rally on the boulevard on Dec. 10 because KMT supporters
had lined up for hours to block them
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
are fighting over who gets the right to use Ketagalan Boulevard, a major venue
in Taipei for large-scale campaign rallies, in the run-up to the presidential
and legislative elections on Jan. 14.
The KMT yesterday dismissed DPP accusations that it had prevented the DPP from
obtaining permits to organize campaign rallies on the boulevard.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (¿à¯À¦p) defended a party decision to send supporters to
line up in front of the Taipei City Government building for 24 hours starting on
Tuesday to obtain the permit, saying the KMT had obtained the permit to hold
campaign rallies, not to block the DPP from using the venue.
¡§Ketagalan Boulevard is a hotspot for election campaign activities, and every
political party is aware of the regulations on permit applications. We are
simply following the rules; there was no trick,¡¨ she said.
Lai said the DPP shouldn¡¦t blame the KMT for taking the initiative in lining up
for the permit, adding that the party was making groundless accusations against
the KMT.
Lai¡¦s comments came in response to accusations by DPP spokesman Chuang
Ruei-hsiung (²ø·ç¶¯), who said the DPP was only able to obtain a permit to use the
road on Dec. 10 because of ¡§sneaky acts¡¨ by the KMT. Lai accused the KMT of
hindering the DPP¡¦s plan to hold a rally for the ¡§three little pigs¡¨ campaign to
boost DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen¡¦s (½²^¤å) campaign.
¡§We planned to hold a two-day campaign rally on the venue, but we are unable to
do so because the permits were obtained by people sent from the other camp ...
It¡¦s obvious that the KMT obtained the permit to block our activities,¡¨ he said.
While condemning the KMT¡¦s move, Chuang said the DPP had also begun to send
volunteers to wait in front of the building for 24 hours a day to obtain permits
ahead of the elections.
According to Taipei City¡¦s New Construction Department, road permits are open
for application up to one month ahead of a planned event, while applicants
should be at the application zone in front of the city hall for applications.
The department said it handled the application process in accordance with the
regulations, and would not favor any specific political party.
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