Independent presidential candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday named actress Tammy Lai (賴佩霞), known for her role in the Netflix political drama Wave Makers (人選之人), as his running mate for the election in January next year.
Gou, the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), said at an event in Taipei that he would depend on Lai’s “unique female perspective to foster a more equitable and gender-balanced culture in Taiwan.”
Lai, who portrayed the president in Wave Makers, said that as vice president she would urge overseas businesspeople to “return, invest and remain in Taiwan.”
Photo: RITCHIE B. TONGO, EPA-EFE
Young people cannot envision getting married and having children without a stable economy, depriving many of the joys of grandchildren, Lai said.
“I’m sure we all still remember the incidents in Cambodia, which represented a parent’s worst nightmare,” she said, an apparent reference to cases of Taiwanese being trafficked and imprisoned by telecoms fraud rings in the Southeast Asian nation.
“Due to the poor economic conditions, we were unable to keep our children with us. There is no way we will allow that to happen again,” she said.
Lai said that as vice president, she would communicate the credentials and policies of Gou’s independent ticket by “engaging with opposition parties, the media and most importantly, the public.”
Lai has a master’s degree in international relations and a doctorate in law from China’s Jinan University, Gou’s campaign office said in a statement following the press event.
She is also a writer and the founder of the Collaborative Communications Academy, which advocates for positive communication skills, the statement said.
She would need to renounce her US citizenship to be eligible to run in next year’s election, which it said she would do soon.
Due to a lack of party affiliation, Gou must collect signatures from 289,667 people by Nov. 2 to make it onto the ballot, Central Election Commission (CEC) rules say.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician is also required to register his independent candidacy with the CEC no later than Sunday, the rules say.
His campaign cannot begin the signature drive until after his candidacy is registered.
However, there is speculation that Gou’s campaign would seek a candidacy pact with Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Lai appeared to signal her support for a pact, saying it would be her “mission” to fulfill Gou’s goal of “integrating the opposition.”
Ko described Lai as a “strong candidate” who has been engaged in charitable activities for the past few years.
Hou said that he has been recruited as the KMT’s candidate and intends to “unite all forces to move forward.”
Asked whether he thought the announcement of Lai as Gou’s running mate was timed to coincide with the start of his eight-day trip to the US, Hou said he had not been aware of Gou’s plans.
Separately, the nominees for the Golden Bell Awards were announced, with Lai receiving a Best Supporting Actress nomination in the miniseries/TV movie category for her role in Wave Makers.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist