While the New Taipei City mayoral seat will be a key indicator of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) performance in the local elections at the end of this year, there is no possibility of Premier William Lai (賴清德) running in the elections, DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) said yesterday.
With the DPP expected to secure re-election in Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan, and working to prevent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) from seizing Taipei, New Taipei City would be a major battleground between the two parties in the Nov. 24 election, Tuan said during a radio interview.
While the DPP might lose some cities to the KMT, a possible win in New Taipei City would be interpreted as a landslide victory for the DPP if the KMT fails to secure any of the six special municipalities, Tuan said.
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“New Taipei City is of important strategic value. The New Taipei City mayoral seat will be the key focus and indicator of the mayoral elections,” he said.
The KMT, which holds New Taipei City, could easily win the election if the DPP nominates an unpopular candidate, so the DPP will field the most worthy candidate in the city, Tuan said.
DPP legislators Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), as well as Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻), who have announced their candidacy for the DPP nomination for New Taipei City, each has a support rating of less than 20 percent in opinion polls, lagging potential KMT rivals.
Asked if former premiers Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) or Yu Shyi-kun, each of whom has a more than 40 percent support rating, would be named for the mayoral election, Tuan said he did not know if the DPP would nominate them.
However, “it is out of the question” that Lai would run for New Taipei City mayor, Tuan added.
Had Lai accepted the positions of Presidential Office secretary-general or vice premier, chances were that he would run for mayor, but his assuming the premiership ruled out the possibility of Lai running for a mayoral seat, Tuan said.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), daughter of Su Tseng-chang, said that her father would not run for New Taipei City mayor, denying media reports that the DPP was ready to nominate him.
Her father would continue to support Wu’s bid, and Wu remains the leading DPP candidate for the New Taipei City race, she said
Su Tseng-chang was county commissioner for then-Taipei County from 1997 to 2004. The county became New Taipei City in 2010.
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
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
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