Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) yesterday said she would not run for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chair when Taichung “needs her the most” to deal with US tariffs.
Calling Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods “a tsunami” for the country, Lu said Taichung is expected to be hard hit.
The city is home to many small and medium-sized companies, particular those in the machinery sector.
Photo: CNA
“Our economy is deteriorating [due to the tariffs], and therefore I have to stand guard with our businesses and our citizens, through the expected hardships ahead,” Lu told reporters in Taichung.
“At this most challenging moment, a mother will stay at home,” Lu said, referring to her nickname of “Mother Lu” due to her public image as a caring mother.
“This is my promise and I intend to keep it,” she said.
Lu made the comments in response to KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) open support for her to succeed him, following the party’s latest victory defeating recalls against seven of its lawmakers on Saturday.
“I sincerely urge Mayor Lu Shiow-yen to run for the position of KMT chairperson and take on the weighty responsibilities of leading the party” on its return to power, Chu said on Saturday.
He also praised Lu for her “calm, pragmatic and warm leadership,” which showed she had the strength the KMT and Taiwan need.
The KMT is set to elect a new chairperson on Oct. 18, with candidate registration opening early next month.
Chu, who is leading the KMT for the second time since 2021, has said he has no intention to seek re-election.
Lu thanked Chu for his remarks, but said the KMT is a democratic party, and it would be “inappropriate” for an outgoing chair to name a successor or pick someone to join the chairmanship race.
“I will be there whenever the party needs me,” she added, without elaborating.
Lu, who would reach the two-term limit in December next year, is widely expected to seek the KMT’s leadership and run in the 2028 presidential election.
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