Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who has been tipped as a potential presidential candidate for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 2016, yesterday said he “doesn’t care” about his future political career.
Hau made the remark at a press conference in Taipei to unveil his plan to launch 10 new major infrastructure projects to boost the city’s job market and celebrate his six-year anniversary in office, which is today.
“Every move a politician makes and every word he says are closely watched. Yet if you ask any Taipei resident if they care about the future of Hau Lung-bin, I believe the answer will be negative,” Hau said when asked by reporters if he had laid out plans for his political future and whether he would accept an invitation to join the Cabinet if he received one.
Hau said what mattered most to people were their livelihoods and the future prospects of the city, and that tabling the “new plan of 10 major infrastructure projects” was his way of responding to requests by Taipei residents and meeting their future needs.
The 10 projects include the development plan for the area around Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the Taipei Twin Towers project near Taipei Railway Station and construction of the MRT Songshan and Xinyi lines.
“However, when it comes to my own future, I don’t care,” Hau said, adding that he hoped his administration would make an all-out effort in the next two years to lay the foundations for a bright future for Taipei.
Asked by reporters to differentiate himself from New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), another possible future KMT presidential candidate, Hau said he respected Chu and that they were good friends.
“Chu and I are in frequent contact with each other, and because of our close communication, the two cities [Taipei and New Taipei City] are able to be on the same page on various issues, making the Greater Taipei area a place with better social welfare and infrastructure,” Hau said.
“It has been a great pleasure working with him,” Hau said of Chu.
As for the ideal candidate for the next Taipei mayor, Hau said Taipei residents were wise people with minds of their own and that they knew best who would be the right mayor in the future.
“In my personal opinion, I believe it would be better if the KMT’s future mayoral candidate were selected via a democratic mechanism,” Hau said.
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