Ke Zhien’s candidacy for mayor of Kaohsiung made another geographical mistake, claiming that Central Park is not in the emerging area
Quick Look
- After the Kuomintang Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ke Zhien held a temple concert at the Dagangpu Gushou Palace in Xinxing District, he declared on Facebook that he wanted to make Central Park a Kaohsiung city brand again.
- However, Democratic Progressive Party member Zheng Mengzhen pointed out that Central Park is actually located in Qianjin District, not Xingxing District.
- Ke Zhien has made many mistakes in geography and promotions before, including mistakenly calling Dali Department Store "Daliguang Department Store", Weiwuying as "Dawuying", incorrectly labeling Dingshan Night Market as "permanently closed" and mistaking Sanmin District as the most populous administrative district, which raised questions about his local familiarity with Kaohsiung.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Ke Zhien is a candidate for mayor of Kaohsiung of the Kuomintang and failed to run in 2022. During the campaign, he made many geographically incorrect remarks, such as mistakenly calling Dali Department Store "Daliguang Department Store", Weiwuying as "Dawuying", and incorrectly labeling Dingshan Night Market as "permanently closed". This incident once again highlighted his lack of familiarity with Kaohsiung’s administrative divisions and landmarks.
Kuomintang Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ke Zhien held a temple concert at the Dagangpu Gushou Palace in Xinxing District yesterday (13th) evening. After the meeting, she emphasized on Facebook that she wanted Central Park to become Kaohsiung's most eye-catching city brand and the pride of Kaohsiung again. However, DPP MP Zheng Mengzhen corrected her, saying that Central Park is not in Xinxing District, but in Qianjin District.
During the election, Ke Zhien made many slips of the tongue and misplaced propaganda, and was questioned by the outside world as not being familiar with the local context and geography of Kaohsiung. For example, during the 2022 election, Dali Department Store was called "Daliguang Department Store" and Weiwuying was called "Dawuying." This year's election campaign materials included the "permanently closed" Dingshan Night Market. A few days ago, it was stated on Facebook that Sanmin District is the most populous administrative district in Kaohsiung, but it was also slapped in the face that Fengshan District is the most populous administrative district.
Please read on...
Ke Zhien gave a lecture at Dagangpu Gushou Palace in Xinxing District last night, emphasizing that Xinxing District is not big, but there are memories shared by many people here: T&T Department Store, Xinjuejiang, Yuzhu Business District, and Formosa are connected to the nearby Kaohsiung Station. It's just that the prosperity of the past is facing new challenges. There are more and more old houses, fewer and fewer people, and the business district has lost its past luster. She also mentioned that Central Park should be re-established as Kaohsiung’s most eye-catching urban brand. It should be a green urban forest during the day and an urban stage showing creativity, art and vitality at night.
In this regard, DPP Councilor Zheng Mengzhen said, Ke Zhien himself said that he has been in Kaohsiung for four years, and he is about to be elected for the second time as mayor. His homework on this city should be more advanced than the first time, right? "Did you know that Central Park is in Qianjin District?" How do you want to connect, improve, and implement? You can't just string together a few place names and add "recovering crowds and business opportunities", even if you have done a good job in urban planning.
In addition, Ke Zhien also said, "Kaohsiung has given the DPP 40 years, but you can give me 4 years to try!" Zheng Mengzhen wondered that the original Kaohsiung City was not governed by the DPP until Hsieh Chang-ting took office at the end of 1998. Counting to 2026, it will be about 28 years, and this is only the number of years that have passed, including the period when Han Kuo-yu was in power and the subsequent acting mayor. She said bitterly, "When talking about urban vision, the geography must be clear; when criticizing the years in power, the history must also be clear!"
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Ke Zhien will be more careful to avoid geographical errors in future election campaigns.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Will Koh publicly correct his misstatements about the location of Central Park?
- Could such geographic errors affect voters’ assessments of their ability to govern?
- Will the KMT provide more geographical or administrative information support for Ke Zhien’s campaign?
