Ko Chih-en smashes New Tide prop as DPP candidate accuses her of stoking hatred

Before registering her candidacy for Kaohsiung mayor, Kuomintang candidate Ko Chih-en put on boxing gloves and smashed a foam-board prop labeled “New Tide.” A KMT councilor then crushed a balloon shaped like a baseball bat, copying a prop used the previous day by Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Jui-lung.

The performance drew sharp criticism from Tsai Ping-tsung, the DPP’s candidate for Kaohsiung’s Gangshan district council seat. Tsai said Ko had been reduced to “stoking hatred” and embracing the deep-blue base, leaving her unable to win the support of most Kaohsiung residents.

Tsai contrasted Ko’s actions with Lai’s registration campaign the day before. Lai had said he wanted to fight an election based on policy proposals, achievements and values. Ko’s punching and balloon-smashing, Tsai argued, projected confrontation and hostility, with an obvious intention to provoke hatred.

He said the aggressive staging and language also appeared to support reports that the so-called Han family political network had returned to Ko’s campaign team. In Tsai’s view, Ko was returning to a style of campaigning based on smears and incitement, rather than offering a vision for Kaohsiung’s transformation, continued pride and further progress.

Tsai said Ko, as the KMT’s nominee, should explain and respond to past legislation that he said the blue and white parties had supported in the Legislative Yuan and that had harmed Kaohsiung. He added that divisive political stunts and unexplained billboards would not win the approval of most city residents.