In the Hualien County magistrate election, the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a crushing defeat. Acting Magistrate Cai Bizhong pledged in his administrative report to the county council that he would “guard” the county government, no longer implementing any major policies. In the final three weeks of his term, Cai Bizhong embarked on a journey through nature and mountains. Today, he went hiking in Yushan National Park to attend the completion ceremony of the restoration of an old Bunun tribe house, giving off strong “graduation trip” vibes.
Two months before the year-end general election vote, Magistrate Fu Kun-chi was removed from office due to stock trading violations, and the central government appointed Cai Bizhong to “parachute” into Hualien to take over the county government. Undeterred by rumors, he took bold actions such as investigating and summoning personnel involved in the Ideal Formosa case under the county government, ordering the cancellation of the bid for the Sunrise Champs-Élysées project to avoid it becoming a “haunted house,” and temporarily suspending the youth housing project. He also boasted about canceling the opening ceremony of the “Five Religions Unity” Heaven Worship event, claiming to have saved NT$8 million in public funds.
However, his continuous “exposé” actions only stirred backlash among the people of Hualien. Fu’s wife, Xu Zhenwei, secured over 71% of the vote, setting the highest vote percentage record in Taiwan and creating an insurmountable “Hualien barrier.” In contrast, Liu Xiaomei only received 25% of the vote, even falling below the 31% base line set by You Ying-long in previous years. Cai was criticized as the worst “fire-fighting” teammate who “poured oil on the fire,” becoming the biggest liability for the defeat.
After the election, Cai Bizhong adopted a lower profile. Aside from pledging in his council report not to implement any major policies, he attended the openings of the Fenglin Social Welfare Center and the Fengbin Love Library, inspected the Ruifang Beigang Bridge and Xincheng Jiamin Bridge projects, seemingly avoiding the previous “anti-Fu” cases. Even when inspecting the Champs-Élysées project, he humbly stated he was listening to public opinion and would relay concerns to the incoming magistrate.
Yesterday morning, Cai Bizhong led a group of over 20 people, including his university senior and Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Chen Shumei, who will also leave office on the 25th, starting their hike at 8 a.m. from the Wulamyi Trailhead in Zhuoxi. They walked about 5 kilometers to reach the hidden Jiashin old tribal site deep in the forest, where they unveiled the newly reconstructed Bunun stone slab house, recreating the century-old landscape of the Dabun Incident resistance. They are expected to exit the trailhead by 3 p.m.
(China Times)