Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday threw his support behind Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui’s (吳秉叡) bid for New Taipei City mayor in next year’s local elections.
“Among many qualified candidates for New Taipei City mayor, Wu is the most suitable. I wish him good luck in the [DPP] primary election,” Lai said.
“Wu has dedicated himself to the development of New Taipei City for more than 20 years and is committed to making the city prosper,” Lai said, adding that Wu is a leader of the DPP caucus with an outstanding legislative performance.
Lai said he would dedicate his energy toward developing Tainan at a time when major construction projects are under way, such as an underground railway project and the reconstruction of the Weiguan Jinlong complex, which collapsed during a major earthquake last year.
A possible bid by Lai in next year’s mayoral elections came to the public’s attention after former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at a dinner party on Sunday pledged his support for Wu’s bid to run for New Taipei City mayor on the condition that Lai does not intend to run.
“If Lai wants to join the mayoral election in his hometown of New Taipei City, we are willing to support him. I am willing to be his campaign director. If Lai does not join the election, I think Wu is the most suitable candidate,” Su said.
Wu has served New Taipei City residents for 20 years, including six years as a confidential secretary at the former Taipei County government, making him the most qualified candidate for mayor, Su said.
The development of New Taipei City has fallen behind the other five special municipalities and the next mayor should have the passion and ability to lead the city, the former Taipei County commissioner said.
Wu and DPP legislators Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) are likely to compete for the DPP’s nomination to run for New Taipei City mayor, while former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) was also named as a possible candidate.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai