In the debate and negotiation, Wu Siyao "says one thing and does another" Luo Zhiqiang: Honesty is the best policy in some things

Taipei mayoral candidates Chiang Wanan and Shen Boyang's camp went to TVBS for the second debate this afternoon to negotiate and finalize the first debate to be held at 12 noon on October 31. After the meeting, Luo Zhiqiang, a representative of the Chiang Kai-shek camp, named Wu Siyao, the director-general of Shen Boyang's campaign, and questioned the DPP camp's previous accusations that Chiang Wanan's choice of October 31 might affect the LGBT parade. During the negotiations, it was once proposed to hold the parade in the afternoon, which surprised him. He said bluntly, "Sometimes with many things, I think honesty is the best policy."

Luo Zhiqiang said that today it is certain that Wu Siyao finally attended as a decision-making representative, allowing the negotiations to come to a successful conclusion, but there were still some sparks in the process. October 31 is the date proposed by the organizer, not designated by Jiang Wanan’s camp. Since the two sides are discussing this date, they should find a time period that can accommodate the schedules of all parties.

Luo Zhiqiang pointed out that Wu Siyao's camp originally wanted to arrange it in the afternoon because there was an event to set up the Democratic Progressive Party's campaign headquarters in the morning. He asked on the spot: "It's the Gay Pride Parade in the afternoon! Why did you choose to hold it in the afternoon?" The campaign headquarters event is important, but he believed that the KMT congressmen could also understand the need for the mayor to participate in the debate. Therefore, the Jiang Wanan camp strongly opposed occupying the gay parade time and proposed to adjust the schedule and hold it in the morning.

Luo Zhiqiang questioned that Shen Boyang and Wu Siyao had repeatedly claimed that October 31 might hinder participation in the gay parade, but now the afternoon plan was proposed during the consultations, which he found difficult to understand. He said that the other party later adjusted the time slot to 1 to 3 pm, but it still overlapped with the gay parade time. Fortunately, the organizer proposed a compromise at noon, allowing both parties to participate in scheduled activities in the morning and participate in the parade in the afternoon.

Regarding date selection, Luo Zhiqiang also refuted the Wu Siyao camp's claim that there are many options and great flexibility. He said that the Shen camp had proposed dates such as October 24, October 31 and November 7. The organizers believed that the preparation time for October 24 was too hasty. As for November 7, the other party was originally willing to discuss it, but after the proposal, the other party returned to October 31. He questioned that in the past, debates usually took about a month to prepare. If we insist on October 24, it would be equivalent to requiring the organizers to complete preparations in a short period of time, which is unfair.

However, Wu Siyao had previously said that Shen Boyang’s camp hopes to hold the debate as soon as possible and is also willing to accept October 31. He also advocated that the first date should be finalized first and then the subsequent arrangements should be clarified.