Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who had been tipped as the party’s candidate for New Taipei City mayor in the Nov. 26 local elections, pulled out of consideration yesterday, citing delays in formalizing his nomination.
DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) on May 3 asked Lo, who heads the party’s International Affairs Department, if he would be willing to be the DPP candidate to run against incumbent New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), a source familiar with the matter said.
Lo, a two-term member of the Legislative Yuan representing New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), yesterday confirmed on social media that he had been asked to take up the challenge against the popular Hou, who is seeking a second term.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
However, he has asked the party to rule out his selection, Lo added.
Lo said the party had not officially announced his candidacy, and with less than five months to the election, there is not sufficient time to prepare an effective campaign.
Time was running out for the DPP to mount a productive challenge in the city of 4 million, especially as previous party candidates were given at least six months from their official selection to canvas support across New Taipei City’s 29 districts, Lo said.
“As precious time has been wasted with less than four months until election day, there is no time for New Taipei residents to recognize my sincerity and effort, and that affects my ability to be a mayoral candidate,” he said.
Despite officially selecting candidates for a number of other local elections, the DPP was rumored to be considering its options in New Taipei City, with former minister of transportation and communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) among the names the party was considering, DPP sources said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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