Former Tainan County commissioner and Taiwan Renewal Party convener Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) yesterday announced his bid for Taipei mayor in the Nov. 26 elections.
Su, who was Tainan County commissioner from 2001 to 2010, announced in 2018 that he would leave the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and run for Taipei mayor, but ended up running as an independent candidate for Tainan mayor, which he lost to current Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲).
Despite fierce opposition from his wife, Huang said he has a responsibility to “history and to the land,” and after hesitating for three months, decided to devote himself to the campaign.
Photo: CNA
Su presented his platform of government, aimed at solving the difficulties facing young people and the nation’s low birthrate.
Comparing himself to “Don Quixote,” Su said he would undertake the mission of speaking out for Taipei’s young residents.
“Taiwan should take more drastic measures against the lowest birthrate in the world,” he said, proposing to make Taipei the first city to provide full financial support for child-rearing until the age of six.
He proposed strategies to solve the housing problem, such as imposing an empty homes tax, making the rental market completely transparent, implementing rent control and prioritizing turning public land into social housing.
Taipei should take the lead in reviving Taiwan’s film industry by turning Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and nearby venues into a movie creative park, he said.
Following the example of Tokyo, London, Paris, Berlin and Seoul, Taipei should allow self-governance for its 12 districts, he said.
“Taipei needs a mayor who is willing to listen to the people and accept diversity,” he added.
With the nation’s two major political parties, and possibly the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), having nominated strong candidates for the position, Su said the votes he gets might be embarrassingly low.
However, he said he hoped his run would raise public awareness about the difficult position young Taiwanese are in and the low birthrate, which is a threat to national security.
In addition to Su, DPP candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and lawyer Winifred Tung (童文薰) are vying for the Taipei mayoral seat.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) has signaled her intention to run, but has yet to officially declare her candidacy and whether she would run as an independent or represent the TPP.
Additional reporting by CNA
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to