Rumors are circulating in Tainan political circles that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) is considering running for New Taipei City mayor should New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) announce a bid for next year’s presidential election, while Lai’s ambiguous response to the rumor yesterday served only to further speculation.
“I have not yet decided [whether to run for New Taipei City mayor],” Lai said. “It seems like someone [intentionally] spread the rumor to hold Chu back from giving up his position and running for president... I do not want to spoil the effect of the rumor by giving a specific statement.”
“I’ve never said that I would serve out my four-year term. What I said was: ‘I would do my best to manage city affairs,’” Lai added.
Lai’s team reportedly “feels uncomfortable” at Lai’s renunciation of his bid for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential nomination and his supporters have been urging him to “take his political career to the next level,” people in Tainan political circles said.
That “next level” might include the vice presidency or premiership, if presidential candidate and DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) names Lai as her running mate, or if she wins next year’s presidential election and appoints Lai as the premier, the people said, adding that another option for Lai would be to “venture into northern Taiwan to expand his political territory.”
Taking into account Lai’s character, it is unlikely that he would be comfortable as Tsai’s deputy, people close to Lai said, adding that it remains uncertain whether Lai would assume the premiership if Tsai is elected president.
Until the uncertainties are resolved, it would be better for Lai to “depend on himself” and make a bid for New Taipei City mayor in order to enrich his political experience by serving as mayor in municipalities in both southern and northern Taiwan, which could boost his electoral chances for the 2020 or 2024 presidential elections, people in Tainan political circles said.
If Chu resigns as New Taipei City mayor to run in the presidential election, it is likely that Lai would run in the mayoral by-election for New Taipei City, the people said.
If he were to do that, Lai would have to resign as Tainan mayor, leading to a by-election for Tainan mayor, which is a cause of concern for Lai, they added.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS