Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday threw his support behind Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui’s (吳秉叡) bid for New Taipei City mayor in next year’s local elections.
“Among many qualified candidates for New Taipei City mayor, Wu is the most suitable. I wish him good luck in the [DPP] primary election,” Lai said.
“Wu has dedicated himself to the development of New Taipei City for more than 20 years and is committed to making the city prosper,” Lai said, adding that Wu is a leader of the DPP caucus with an outstanding legislative performance.
Lai said he would dedicate his energy toward developing Tainan at a time when major construction projects are under way, such as an underground railway project and the reconstruction of the Weiguan Jinlong complex, which collapsed during a major earthquake last year.
A possible bid by Lai in next year’s mayoral elections came to the public’s attention after former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at a dinner party on Sunday pledged his support for Wu’s bid to run for New Taipei City mayor on the condition that Lai does not intend to run.
“If Lai wants to join the mayoral election in his hometown of New Taipei City, we are willing to support him. I am willing to be his campaign director. If Lai does not join the election, I think Wu is the most suitable candidate,” Su said.
Wu has served New Taipei City residents for 20 years, including six years as a confidential secretary at the former Taipei County government, making him the most qualified candidate for mayor, Su said.
The development of New Taipei City has fallen behind the other five special municipalities and the next mayor should have the passion and ability to lead the city, the former Taipei County commissioner said.
Wu and DPP legislators Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) are likely to compete for the DPP’s nomination to run for New Taipei City mayor, while former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) was also named as a possible candidate.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
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