President 
Lai Ching-te urged voters to back Liu Chien-kuo, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Yunlin County magistrate candidate, as Liu's campaign headquarters opened on September 20 before a crowd of more than 10,000. Lai, who chairs the campaign committee, set out three reasons to support Liu, stressing that for Taiwan to win, Yunlin must win first. He said he had broken with precedent to take the chair, and in remarks carried by CNA he urged voters to cast their ballots for Liu on November 28.
What reasons did the president give? The first was Liu's nearly 30 years in politics, rising from city representative and county councillor to legislator, with Lai crediting Liu and former county magistrate Su Chih-fen with jointly building Yunlin's current development, CNA reported. The second was democracy: in the year of the DPP's 40th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of direct presidential elections, he said, Yunlin, a "holy land of democracy," must not become the Chang family's domain. He recalled that when 
Chiang Kai-shek sought to breach the constitution to serve a third term, many of the gentry objected, among them Yunlin's Li Wan-chu and Su's father, Su Tung-chi. He also said the president and commander-in-chief must safeguard Taiwan's security while China refuses to renounce force, and that only by flipping Yunlin would there be a chance to settle disputes in the legislature, leaving the central government to him and the county to Liu.
What did he ask of voters? His only goal, he said, was to ask local residents to stand as a firm backing at Taiwan's most critical moment. He called on them to witness together a historic moment of change for Yunlin and to win the final victory.
Who else backed Liu? Speakers included DPP legislator Lai Huei-yuan, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chang Tun-han and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, CNA reported. Supporters at the launch chanted "Get elected!"
Figures referenced: Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
