Water agency accused of electioneering for DPP candidate; campaign denies

A political dispute has erupted in Taoyuan, Taiwan, with opposition councilor Chan Chiang-tsun accusing the Water Resources Agency of leveraging routine exchange events to support ruling Democratic Progressive Party mayoral candidate Huang Shih-chieh. Chan alleges that an organization, purportedly linked to Huang, used a "water supply exchange event" to rally support, urging attendees to chant "Dong Shan" (a cheer for victory) and asking members to encourage younger relatives to vote for Huang. He also questioned the value of "exquisite gifts" distributed afterward, suspecting they exceeded legal limits.

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The relevant accusations completely distort the facts and deliberately politicize routine exchange activities.

Huang Shih-chieh's campaign office vehemently denied the accusations, labeling them a distortion of facts and a deliberate politicization of normal exchange activities. Huang's campaign spokesperson, Huang Hsuan-yin, stated that the events are organized by the Taoyuan Management Office of the Water Resources Agency and are open to all local representatives within the irrigation districts. Huang Shih-chieh, along with other political figures from various parties, was invited to attend.

Huang's office clarified that any well-wishes expressed at the event were directed at all attendees, regardless of political affiliation, and were not specific to Huang's candidacy. They accused Chan of selectively extracting fragments and taking statements out of context to manipulate a normal exchange event into an election issue, calling it pure political maneuvering. The campaign stressed that such actions blur the focus and cause unnecessary trouble for attending representatives.

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Chan deliberately extracts fragments and takes statements out of context, attempting to manipulate a normal exchange activity into an election issue; this is pure political maneuvering.

The campaign urged all political factions to return to rational competition based on policies and ideals, rather than deliberately politicizing normal exchange activities. They argued that such tactics are unhelpful to a healthy election atmosphere and do not benefit the public discourse. The statement concluded by emphasizing that the allegations are not only factually incorrect but also create difficulties for all invited representatives.

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Such actions not only blur the focus but also cause unnecessary trouble for the representatives who attended that day and are of no help to a healthy election atmosphere.