Battle Lines Drawn in Keelung Mayor Recall Campaign
A local festival is overshadowed by politics as supporters and opponents of Keelung Mayor George Hsieh draw battle lines over a recall vote.
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00:00Jilong Mayor George Xie faces his first public challenge since election officials set a date
00:05for a recall vote aimed at removing him, October 13.
00:09His opponents say he abused his power, sending police into a shopping center to push through
00:13its handover to a company run by an ex-girlfriend's family.
00:18But Xie says recalls have become a political tool to reverse democratic elections.
00:22It's a view many in his party, the Kuomintang, share.
00:25Speaking to residents ahead of the city's famed ghost festival, Xie said the city is
00:29on his side.
00:30There's a bit of a reaction.
00:31The people of Jilong are disgusted by the so-called repression.
00:32To be honest, that's how it is.
00:33I think in the future, we will continue to work hard to do a good job of governing.
00:43But citizens who've banded together to remove Xie say the real political manipulation is
00:47coming from election officials.
00:49They say the election commission has raised the profile of the recall vote, perhaps to
00:53sway the results in Xie's favor.
00:56Two days since election officials set the date for the vote, both sides are gearing
01:13up for a clash over this key northern port city's political future.
01:17James Lin and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.