TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- When asked to comment about the two million protestors who turned up in Hong Kong on Sunday (June 16), itinerant Kaohsiung Mayor and full-time presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu brushed off the question, as he deals with criticism for failing to combat the spread of dengue fever in Kaohsiung.
As Han arrived at the Legislative Yuan Research Building today (June 17), which happens to be his birthday, reporters asked him what he thought about the massive gathering of two million protestors in Hong Kong on Sunday. Han dodged the question by simply saying, "OK, thank you all" (好，謝謝大家), and quickly left the scene, reported Liberty Times.
His abrupt comment was a far cry from his melodramatic speech at a rally in Yunlin County on Saturday (June 15) in which he swore "'One country, two systems' can never be implemented in Taiwan. Taiwanese people can never accept it, unless, unless, unless it's over my dead body."
Meanwhile, Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Saturday (June 15) announced that the dengue fever outbreak in Kaohsiung 's Sanming District has reached 20 victims already this year. This is a significant uptick from the half a dozen cases reported by September of last year.
For the past few days, the Kaohsiung City government and the Cabinet have been blaming each other for the spread, with Han's camp claiming that his requests for funding to battle the spread of dengue fever have been turned down because he has been blackballed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government. The Cabinet has countered that Han's government has failed to submit the proper paperwork.
Han arrived at the Legislative Yuan today to solicit funding from the Taiwan government to combat the spread of the disease saying that "mosquitoes don't know the difference between blue and green," reported Apple Daily. DPP Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) bluntly said, "Mayor Han is busy building momentum [for the presidency], and borough chiefs are the ones busy preventing and controlling dengue fever," according to the report.
Lee felt Han's visit was patronizing as he said there was no need to explain to legislators the need to fight dengue fever, "because we love Kaohsiung more than him, so I won't neglect Kaohsiung." Lee also pointed out that Kaohsiung already had NT$8.61 million in funds for disease prevention and on June 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare had approved an additional NT$10.7 million.
Lee said that "Funding has never been a problem, but it is a matter of determination and taking action to prevent and control dengue fever."
