Former vice premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀), who is in charge of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) electoral strategy for her re-election bid, suggested that the party not verbally attack Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in the run-up to next year’s presidential election, a source said.
Tsai, who this month won the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential primary, on Friday met with party lawmakers at her residence, where Lin apparently made the remark.
The meeting focused on party unity in the wake of the primary, its relationships with smaller parties and controlling false news reports, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
Photo: Hsieh Wu-hsiung, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who is contesting the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) primary, is losing influence, although he still has many fans, so the DPP must remain mindful, the source quoted Lin as saying.
There is uncertainty over whether Ko would run for president, so the party should not verbally attack him or offend his supporters, the source quoted Lin as saying, adding that even if he enters the race, the DPP should still try to draw in his supporters.
Ko — an independent who has said that he would decide in August whether he would run — would greatly affect the DPP’s chances if he were to contest the presidency, Lin was quoted as saying.
Opinion polls conducted by Tsai’s campaign team showed that among the potential presidential candidates, only Tsai can compete with Ko among young voters, other sources said.
Ko’s supporters are mainly aged 20 to 39, but he lacks support among people aged 60 or older, factions in rural areas and organizations, while Han has hardly any support among young people, but has support from elderly people and local factions, the sources said.
Tsai has relatively even support among all age groups, they said, citing opinion polls.
Ko, who was visiting Taitung, yesterday said that no DPP members have discussed with him the possibility of being Tsai’s running mate, but staff members from both sides maintain regular contact.
Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) speaks with DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) from time to time, although their meetings do not have a specific agenda, Ko said.
Asked about Lin’s remark, Ko said he cannot explain other people’s ideas.
Supporters on Facebook for him and Tsai Ing-wen overlapped greatly in 2016, he said.
DPP spokeswoman Lee Yen-jong (李晏榕) said that Cho did not meet frequently with Tsai Pi-ju and the issue of a running mate for Tsai Ing-wen has not been broached between them.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their