Reported by: Syu Jyun-Kuei at County Hall
On the first day after the fierce election campaign, Yang Jhen-Wu, who was successfully elected as the county magistrate, started the first leg of his public schedule yesterday (25th), returning with his parents and wife to his hometown Husia Village to thank the villagers. Apart from thanking fellow citizens and patriarchs for their support, he also offered incense at the local Shuangjhong Temple and congratulated clan relative Yang Jhong-Jyun for winning the election as the Jinning Township Mayor. They greeted each other with a hearty handshake.
After 10 am yesterday morning, county magistrate-elect Yang Jhen-Wu started his first post-election public engagement, returning to Shuangjhong Temple in Husia Village to offer incense. Accompanied by the staff of his service team, Yang Jhen-Wu arrived at Shuangjhong Temple with his parents and wife, where many villagers gathered at the square in front of the temple. After arriving, Yang shook hands with the villagers one by one and thanked them for their vigorous support during the election battle. He said that he chose to return to his hometown to offer incense and thank his supporters as his first stop, because he wanted to pass a message to all countrymen in Kinmen, that whatever he does, he will never forget his origins and the expectations of his fellow citizens. He will take good care of Kinmen’s roots to improve it more and more.
After chatting with people and thanking them for their support, Yang lit the incense and prayed with his parents and wife to the gods. In addition to expressing gratitude for the blessings, he prayed for a smooth and favorable future for Kinmen, and for the county development to get better and better. Afterward, Yang joined local residents to take photos in front of the temple.
Commenting on the latest election held across Taiwan, Yang Jhen-Wu stated that no matter what kind of election it is, be it in Taiwan or Kinmen, its outcome is shaped by multiple factors. He thought that although the Nationalist Party has worked very hard in the past three years, there is still room for improvement; summing up the election, it is mainly down to people’s longing for change. It is very clear that voters are not happy with the incumbents and want things to change, which is the reason for the overturn in many counties and cities around Taiwan. Yang believed that all the newly elected county and city heads, including him, must learn the lesson from this election, taking good care of the livelihood and wishes of the people and this would be the best safeguard for their tenures.
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Yang had served as Director of the Kinmen County Transportation and Tourism Bureau before; he also has many years of experience in cross-strait affairs. Kinmen is very close to Xiamen on the mainland. Yang commented on cross-strait policy that his consistent view was that if the major cross-strait environment is not good, it is impossible for Kinmen, as a minor environment, to maintain itself well. From the fact that the Nationalist Party has taken many seats in this election, we see a new dawn of warmer relations between the two sides. With regards to Kinmen, he has been involved in cross-strait affairs for more than a decade; he believed his first task after assuming office would be to build a living circle among Kinmen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, where either the sharing of livelihood resources or the exchange of personnel, all the construction and development of economic industry must be mutually complementary, supplementary, and free of obstructions; what he pursues is a living circle without obstacles. Once this obstacle-free living circle is formed, the two sides across the strait can advance to the next milestone.
With the completion of the 7th County Council Election, many new faces were elected such as Dong Sen-Bao, Chen Jhih-Long, Li Yang-Sheng, and Wang Siou-Yu, indicating changes of the parliamentary environment in the future. In terms of how to facilitate cooperation between the administration and the parliament, Yang Jhen-Wu stated that it is the councilors’ duty to supervise the administration of the County Government. Therefore, he believed the county government officials should humbly look for advice from the Council. In the future, the government will make the best use of rational data to communicate with the councilors at questioning sessions. He believed as long as the government’s policies are good for the overall development of Kinmen, they will gain support from the councilors.
Yang Jhen-Wu is currently a regional legislator. After the election results were confirmed, the county election committee explained that after Yang is sworn in as the county magistrate, the related by-election procedure for his legislator vacancy must by law be completed within three months. Details of the election date are to be announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) altogether. Yang said that many tasks regarding the subsequent supporting campaign would need advice from seniors and predecessors. At the same time, in consideration of the intentions of outstanding comrades, the party will make overall plans; as a party member, he will not hesitate to throw in his best efforts for the supporting campaign of any candidate endorsed by the party.
After finishing the Shuangjhong Temple visit for the offering of incense, Yang continued his tour to all the villages yesterday afternoon to give thanks for their votes. As many people who need to return to work in Taiwan after the election were waiting at the airport for flights, Yang and his group detoured to the airport to coordinate the extra flights to help transport the passengers.