Taiwan Quick Take: Hsieh wants Olympic debate

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominee for Taipei mayor, challenged his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) opponent Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday to a debate on Hsieh's proposal for Taipei to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Hsieh said he hoped Hau would not evade a public debate on the issue, since Hau has openly expressed his disapproval of the idea. In response, Hau's spokesman Wu Hsiu-kuang (吳秀光) said at present it would be impractical for Taipei to focus its attention on making a bid to host the Olympics. Hau will only enter a debate on issues related to municipal governance with other mayoral candidates after he officially registers his candidacy with election authorities, Wu said.