New Taipei mayoral candidate accused of using online trolls; KMT says opponent unfit for office

New Taipei City councilors from the Kuomintang (KMT) party held a press conference accusing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayoral candidate Su Chiao-hui of employing "vicious election tactics" and "recycling old tricks." The accusation stems from a netizen's post questioning KMT candidate Lee Ssu-chuan's alleged use of online trolls, supported by evidence of similar formatted and content-rich pro-Lee posts.

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Su Chiao-hui is using vicious election tactics and recycling old tricks.

Su's campaign office subsequently shared screenshots of this netizen's post in media groups. The KMT councilors argued that Su's campaign deliberately disseminated these posts to the media to discredit her opponent, likening it to her father, former Premier Su Tseng-chang's, alleged support for online trolls. They asserted that this behavior disqualifies her from running for mayor.

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Being caught by netizens, Lee Ssu-chuan's campaign dares not respond directly and is now blaming opponents for staging it themselves!

DPP legislator Lin Chu-yin, responding via a post shared by Su's office, countered that Lee Ssu-chuan's campaign "dared not respond directly after being caught by netizens, and is now blaming opponents for staging it themselves." City councilor Huang Hsin-hua criticized Su for presenting online comments as those of ordinary netizens, thereby assisting in the spread of rumors. He accused her of "promoting online trolls" and "assisting in spreading rumors," calling it a worse tactic than direct online attacks.

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Su Chiao-hui is promoting online trolls and assisting in spreading rumors, which is a worse tactic than direct online attacks.

Councilors Hung Chia-chun and Liu Mei-fang further elaborated on the alleged pattern of online smear campaigns associated with the Su family. Hung cited instances during Su Tseng-chang's premiership, including the "1450" online army and the use of administrative resources for political attacks. Liu accused Su Chiao-hui of creating a "positive image" while engaging in "smear and insinuation" tactics due to low poll numbers, urging her to cease attacking opponents when her own polls are weak.

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Su Tseng-chang is the founding father of ruling by online trolls; even President Lai Ching-te did not spare him.