Ko Chien-en's Temple Speech in Nanzih Draws 3,000 People; Observer Notes 'Not Enough Chairs': The Wind is Rising in Kaohsiung

The 2026 Kaohsiung mayoral election has become a focal point of the blue-green political struggle, with opinion polls showing different situations. Kuomintang candidate Ko Chien-en and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Rei-lung are in a stalemate. Chen Kuan-an, who previously assisted Ko's campaign, posted on Facebook that the election situation in Kaohsiung is heating up, with cold poll numbers but hot public sentiment. On the 1st, Ko held a temple speech in Nanzih, initially setting up 1,500 chairs, which were insufficient. The small temple courtyard was packed with over 3,000 people. Chen noted that TVBS and ETtoday showed Ko and Lai in a 50-50 race, but he didn't believe it, claiming it was a self-satisfying blue-white poll. A pro-green poll showed Lai's support rate had been caught up by Ko, with only a single-digit difference. Now, the hot scene has truly arrived. Chen pointed out that Ko's event in Nanzih initially set up 1,500 chairs, which were insufficient, so they temporarily brought in nearly 1,000 more. With 2,500 chairs, it was still not enough, and not only were the chairs insufficient, but the venue space was also insufficient. However, enthusiastic Kaohsiung residents, even if they had to stand far away, wanted to support Ko. The small temple courtyard was packed with over 3,000 people. This was not a large-scale rally, but just one of 35 temple speeches, a regional small-scale activity. Meanwhile, Lai also held a regional supporters' association establishment conference in Sanmin and Lingya on the same day, but compared to Ko's outdoor, grassroots event with 3,000 attendees, Lai's event was held indoors with air conditioning, with organized supporters, but the total number of attendees was at most 200-300 people, while Sanmin and Lingya have a population of over 400,000, compared to Nanzih's 200,000. Chen emphasized that in an area with half the number of voters, Ko's event had 10 times as many attendees as Lai's. As one of the planners for Ko's 2022 temple speeches, he knows that not only was the number of attendees in Nanzih higher than last year, but no other event had as many attendees as last night's event. Nanzih is not a blue camp stronghold, and according to the 2024 presidential election data, it is a relatively neutral constituency in Kaohsiung, where Lai Ching-te received 48.6% of the votes, slightly lower at 45.9% in Nanzih. Ko still has nearly 30 more temple speeches to go, and if he can draw large crowds in Nanzih, this Ko wave will soon create a big wave in the port city.