Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) retains a lead over rumored candidates for next year’s Taipei mayoral election, a survey by the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum said, while New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) has the highest approval rating among prospective pan-blue candidates.
The poll shows that Ko, an independent, has the highest overall approval rating at 38 percent, leading his rumored Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challengers, Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智), whose ratings stand at 25.5 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.
Chu had the highest approval rating (30.3 percent) among Ko’s prospective pan-blue rivals, followed by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) with 27.1 percent.
Forum director-general Pan Chien-kuo (龐建國) said the KMT would likely win pity votes if Ting were nominated.
Ting in 2010 and 2014 had the highest approval ratings during party primaries for the Taipei mayoral elections, but he gave KMT Central Standing Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) and then-Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) the chance to run.
Chu, if elected, might suspend his mayoral duties and run for president, or be KMT chairman-elect Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) running mate in the 2020 presidential election, he said.
Chu in 2015 took leave from his mayoralty to campaign for president, sparking criticism that he had broken his promise to serve out his term.
Meanwhile, Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), a rumored candidate for the Taipei race, yesterday promoted Hualien watermelons at Taipei’s Hope Farmers’ Market.
Fu, an independent in the pan-blue camp, has been gifting supersized watermelons reportedly weighing up to 18kg each to Taipei city councilors and reporters.
The move has prompted speculation over his potential Taipei bid.
In response to reporters’ questions on whether he would run for Taipei mayor, Fu said that he would not “rule out any opportunities to plow the fields of happiness.”
He said he also sent Ko some watermelons, too, to wish him luck for the Universiade in August.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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