TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has secured the right to use Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building on Jan. 12, the day before the election.
On Wednesday TPP Spokesperson Tai Yu-wen (戴于文) said the party had secured the rights to Ketagalan Boulevard and Taipei’s Boai Road around the North Gate, also known as Beimen, per CNA. Applications to use Taipei’s roads can be submitted 30 days before the use date at the earliest, making Wednesday the day supporters of different parties competed to register for key election-eve event locations.
Tai said the TPP has paid a deposit for the rights to use the roadway, but is awaiting the application to be finalized. On Tuesday Ko’s campaign director Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) said that up to four other locations have been secured for pre-election day campaign events, including in Taipei and New Taipei.
Tai said securing the roadway in front of the presidential office was thanks to the many volunteers who worked to be the fastest to register the key spot. On Tuesday, leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang told UDN they would also be waiting in front of their computers at midnight, but appear to have lost out to the TPP’s speedier volunteers.
Ketagalan Boulevard is a key location for rallies in Taiwan, and was used by the DPP the night before the 2016 election. It was also the site of one of the first mass rallies of the 2024 election’s campaign season in July, when Ko, other politicians, and influencers held an event to call for the removal of the DPP from power.
Ketagalan Boulevard is pictured with the Presidential Office Building in the background. (Wikimedia Commons photo)