Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday picked a former chief campaign director for Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as his own campaign director, saying the choice would help him defeat Ko in the January presidential election.
Lai at a news conference announced the core members of his campaign headquarters, to be led by political commentator Yao Li-ming (姚立明).
A former legislator with the New Party, Yao served as chief campaign director for Ko during his successful 2014 run for Taipei mayor.
Photo: CNA
He has since rescinded his support for the TPP founder, and in 2018 backed a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Taipei mayor.
Lai praised Yao as someone who does not care about party affiliation, only right and wrong.
Yao said he helped Ko in 2014, but broke off contact after getting to know his “true nature.”
“We got together over a misunderstanding and broke up after gaining an understanding,” he said.
However, Yao said he has known Lai for years and fully trusts the DPP candidate.
“I deeply believe that as leader, [Lai] will be able to win the trust of the voters,” he said. “In this way, our partnership is entirely different from my one with Ko Wen-je.”
Asked separately about the pick, Ko said it proves Yao’s skill, as he has been courted by different candidates.
He also said he suspects Lai had political motivations to pick Yao as his campaign director.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS