Keelung Mayoral Candidate Accused of 'Harvesting' Policy Proposal

The Liberty Times reports on a political spat in Keelung, where a mayoral candidate's policy proposal has drawn sharp criticism from a rival party. Tong Tzu-wei, a candidate for Keelung mayor representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), announced a plan to enhance urban governance by increasing the monthly allowance for neighborhood chiefs from NT$1,500 to NT$2,000.

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harvesting

However, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) quickly accused Tong of "harvesting" – a term implying the appropriation of credit for an initiative already underway. Keelung TPP candidates Lin Ting-han, Huang Shen-tung, and Li Wen-yao held a press conference to voice their objections. They asserted that the Keelung city government had already begun the process of increasing the neighborhood chiefs' allowance earlier in the year, including allocating a supplementary budget for this purpose, which was submitted to the city council for review.

Lin Ting-han, who previously served as the deputy spokesperson for the city government, stated that discussions to raise the allowance to NT$2,000 started in early 2026. The Civil Affairs Department subsequently consulted with district offices in March to secure the necessary budget, which was then included in the supplementary budget for the current year.

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The city government has already allocated a supplementary budget of nearly NT$10 million for the neighborhood chiefs' allowance.

The TPP candidates argued that Tong's announcement of this identical proposal, with the same amount, on April 28, was highly coincidental and amounted to presenting an existing government plan as his own initiative. They drew a parallel to another instance where Tong was perceived to have claimed credit for a city government initiative regarding school lunches. The TPP views this as a tactic to gain political advantage by appearing to champion policies already in motion, rather than introducing genuinely new ideas. Tong Tzu-wei's office declined to comment on the TPP's accusations.

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Tong Tzu-wei's proposal on April 28th, with the same content and amount as the city government's existing budget, is highly coincidental and can be described as 'harvesting'.