Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Taipei City (新北市) mayoral primary, saying he did not have enough time to prepare for the campaign.
Lo’s withdrawal left the primary with two aspirants, former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) and former DPP legislator Chuang Shuo-han (莊碩漢), with Yu regarded as the odds-on favorite.
Accompanied by former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Lo officially announced his decision to drop out of the race yesterday morning after a visit to Tsai’s office.
Photo: CNA
“As party headquarters’ strategic considerations and scheduling decision have left me with little time to prepare for my campaign, I hereby announce my decision to withdraw from the primary. Hopefully, my withdrawal will help the party win the election,” said Lo, director of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter.
Tsai said she respected Lo’s decision and praised him for making his best effort for the campaign.
There have been reports that DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) favored Yu’s nomination in the primary in exchange for Yu’s support in the DPP chairmanship election next year.
During negotiations conducted by a task force designated by DPP headquarters on Thursday, the three aspirants agreed that a public opinion poll would be held on Dec. 2 to determine the winner of the winner, although Lo and Chuang had hoped that the survey would be conducted at a later date.
Responding to reporters’ questions, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) reiterated that all three aspirants agreed on the survey date, adding that based on the party’s primary regulations, a poll must be held within one month after party negotiations, unless aspirants agree on a later date.
In related news, the DPP announced that former legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) had defeated former legislator Tang Huo-sheng (湯火聖) in a public opinion poll in Nantou County, making him the party’s representative in the Nantou commissioner election next year.
Lee won the poll by a “considerable margin,” Lin said, but “in respect of Lee and Tang’s agreement, we will not disclose the survey’s exact figures.”
The DPP is expected to finalize its first group of candidates for the mayoral and commissioner elections next year after its Central Executive Committee meeting today and officially announce seven nominees.
Three of the seven nominees would be candidates who won party primaries in the past month, including Nantou County’s Lee Wen-chung, Pan Men-an (潘孟安) of Pingtung County and Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) of Yunlin County.
The other four are all incumbent mayors and commissioners, including Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢).
The DPP’s primary regulations stipulate that all incumbent mayors and commissioners who seek re-election would automatically qualify as the party’s candidates in the local elections.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,