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.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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