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.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS