Taipei mayoral candidates Chiang Wan-an and Puma Shen defended television host Kevin Tsai’s freedom to attend campaign events Monday, amid earlier criticism from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office over his appearance at Shen’s event.
Tsai attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4 and Chiang’s campaign event on Oct. 26, the Central News Agency and FTV reported. Shen is the Democratic Progressive Party’s Taipei mayoral candidate, while Chiang, of the Kuomintang, is seeking reelection as mayor. The candidates spoke a day after Tsai posted a statement about his political views.
The Central News Agency and the Taipei Times reported that Tsai’s Oct. 25 post expressed hope for friendly cross-strait exchanges and said he had never supported Taiwan independence. The reports said he described attending events as a way to gather material for interviews. He also said that visiting or interviewing someone did not mean he agreed with that person’s views.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office addressed Tsai’s appearance at Shen’s event in an Oct. 14 response to a question. The office said people should not benefit from the mainland market while maintaining ties to people it labels Taiwan independence forces.
Chiang said Tsai’s political views should not determine whether he could attend campaign events. He opposed attacks or boycott calls over political disagreements. Shen said Taiwanese people were free to attend political events and accused China of interfering.
TVBS reported that Tsai told reporters after Chiang’s event that his post also served as a farewell, thanks and apology to supporters. He said he could no longer complete some work he had previously agreed to do.
Taiwan’s Central Election Commission has scheduled local elections for Nov. 28.
