Tens of thousands take to streets in Taiwan to protest for and against presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu
- Tens of thousands march in Kaohsiung to demand recall of city’s mayor, who has fallen behind President Tsai Ing-wen in polls
- Opponents accuse Han of ‘running away from city’ after only a few months, but grass roots appeal still helps rally his supporters
Tens of thousands took to the streets of the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Saturday to demand the recall of the city’s mayor and opposition presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu, who organised his supporters in a large counter rally.
The anti-Han rally, organised by local activists’ group Wecare Kaohsiung, started around 1pm with many marchers accusing him of selling out the city by abandoning it to pursue his presidential ambitions only months after being elected.
Another mass demonstration supporting the mayor officially set off at 1.11pm, a time chosen to match the date of the January 11 presidential election – around 4km (2.5 miles) away.
But despite noisy, impassioned crowds at both rallies, with bots sets of organisers claiming six-figure turnouts, the atmosphere appeared largely peaceful throughout the afternoon.
The two rallies come at a time when Han, from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, has fallen behind in the polls against Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Han was elected Kaohsiung’s mayor last November in a stunning victory that saw him become the first KMT head of the city, a traditional DPP stronghold, in 20 years.