2023-10-22 18:29:15
2023-10-23 02:29 United Daily News reporters Cheng Ping, Chen Xiwen, Hou Li’an, Li Chengying, Zhou Youzheng, Cai Jinyu, Chen Luowei/tour interview report Our country was founded on agriculture, but now there are problems with agricultural production and sales. There is a stall specializing in eggs next to the wet market on Guangcai Street in Chiayi City. The old…
President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected in 2020 with a record-breaking 8.17 million votes. In the 2024 election year, multiple polls showed that more than half of the public wanted to remove the Democratic Progressive Party. President Tsai once promised, “If the government cannot listen, you can slam the table.” The DPP has been in power for more than seven years, and the people have gone from expecting reform to slamming the table in anger. The United Daily News traveling interview team traveled from south to north, reaching the forefront of public opinion and bringing back the most authentic voices.
In the 2024 general election, the fierce battle between blue, green and white rose up, and the smell of electoral gunpowder enveloped the whole Taiwan, but it might not cover up the smoldering public dissatisfaction at the grassroots level. The Democratic Progressive Party is facing the severe test of the “eight-year curse” of political party rotation, and the opposition camp has been pushed forward by an overwhelming wave of public opinion from the bottom up. People’s sentiments have changed, the blue-white competition is undecided, and the victory or defeat of the election has entered a critical moment.
The opposition parties are waiting for a chance to flip
As the saying goes, “Every three years there is a leap, good or bad luck will follow the wheel.” Taiwan’s politics is “Every eight years, there will be a leap, and the government will follow the wheel.” In 2000, Chen Shui-bian completed the political party rotation for the first time. In 2008, Ma Ying-jeou rose to power in a whirlwind. In 2016, Tsai Ing-wen took office. In the past 16 years, the blue and green governments have been fully in power respectively. In January next year, The opposition parties are waiting for a chance of a reversal. The voting intentions of 19.5 million voters will determine Taiwan’s future.
The Lianhe Daily interview team interviewed the voices of the grassroots from south to north, including nut factories, Qigu fishermen, Changhua egg farmers, market vendors, hotel operators, farmers and fishermen. Many complained regarding the government, and even more made their own livelihoods. We selected the right ones. It is the common aspiration of people to make their lives better.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, a large amount of unsalable Wendan in the south was temporarily refrigerated in warehouses and will be made into essential oil in the future.Reporter Liu Xuesheng/Photography
The origin of American pig washing is disturbing
As the election campaign heats up, imported egg liquid has quietly flowed into nutritious school lunches, which has alarmed parents. Many counties and cities have seized American pigs that were washed and changed their origin into Canadian pigs, and snack bars have hurriedly posted “Taiwanese pig” notices. In an election year, blue, green and white are clearly divided, and people regardless of color are worried regarding food security.
“Little people can’t resist the elephant, they can only endure it.” Xue Wenxiang, chairman of Xiangting Company, which runs a nut business in Tainan, lamented that the industry has a manpower gap, and the government’s ideological leadership is unwilling to open up migrant workers from the mainland. The lack of workers has forced the industry to collapse. Helpless, he pointed to the weed-covered empty space next to the factory and said, “It has been three years since I bought this place. I can’t find workers and I don’t dare to expand the factory.”
“We will surrender to whoever lets us live.”
Li Suzhen, former chairman of the Taiwan Federation of Hotel Business Associations, also lamented, “We are married to non-human beings, and now the government doesn’t love us.” The dual dilemma of the lack of tourists from mainland China and the shortage of workers in the tourism industry has drained the pockets of the industry operators. “We will vote for whoever can make us survive!” This is not a political statement, it is simply a desire to survive.
“Lack of a igniter”
Tainan’s Qigu fish farm is being planted with photovoltaics, and fishermen have been protesting continuously. Yang Huiqin, chairman of the Qigu Coastal Land Resources Protection Association, has been protecting Qigu for many years. He even went north to the Presidential Palace with his fellow villagers to complain. He said: “Go vote, there will be changes. There is a chance, but now we lack someone who can ignite the fire. We can only hope that voters’ voting behavior will bring regarding changes.”
Public dissatisfaction is smoldering, but the opposition forces are dispersed and it is difficult to compete with the ruling party. In mid-October, there was a break from the busy autumn harvest. In a corner of the Meinong District Farmers Association office, farmers were discussing the election situation. They all said that only when political parties rotate, people’s lives will be better. However, they saw on TV that the blue and white couples were not close together, and Terry Gou was lying down. He lay down and walked away, shaking his head and sighing: “Three brothers are pulling each other, how can they choose to win?”
2024 election 2024 presidential election Ma Ying-jeou Terry Gou migrant workers Chen Shui-bian hollowing out Tsai Ing-wen beautiful pig
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