If someone can mention a single thing he accomplished either as premier or as VP, I’d love to hear it. Otherwise to me he just looks like the deep green guys’ guy—the one tasked with displacing Tsai.
Guy
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When people say that Lai is deep green, does that mean he’s going to change the flag or the country name?
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It is at the very least his beliefs. Not necessarily whether or not he would act on them.
although… one can hope!
But that might (probably will) lead to war.
Freedom isn’t free.
I do not want to live in a world that is controlled and dominated by the CCP.
I do not want to appease Hitler and his successors. They will take and take and take until there is no more to take.
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I know this guy pretty well, long time friend of the family.
He seems sincere and I know he thinks of this country as Taiwan, but he is also a politician, so he watches his words/actions pretty carefully.
He voted against the party lines as a legislator for giving open work rights to foreign spouses back when it was a KMT proposal, partly from knowing me. he thought that foreigners could become part of society. This along with his longterm, but overly optimistic plan to transform the island into a bilingual country by 2030 makes me believe he is sincere, more than most pols.
He did end a lot of the pork barrel budgeting in Tainan by taking away the city councilors customary $5M NT allocation privileges, although it led to a lot of haters from all parties. This was part of the way he balanced the budget.
However, not happy with the way he has done nothing about the fuckedup illegal votebuying, gun waving and shooting of offices in the leadup to Tainan elections.
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based on aesthetics alone, he wont win unless either China or the Chinese KMT do something really dumb. I bet beers on this…
They underestimate how superficial voters are 
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That’s what people said about Abian though. Lee Kuan Yew was saying Abian is more pragmatic than Lee Teng-hui.
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Unlike Madam President Tsai who had virtually no previous knowledge and experience in military affairs and had to frequently appear in photo-ops to compensate the obvious, future Mr. President Lai served on the Kinmen frontline from 1983-85 as a platoon officer with distinction. He will be an even formidable wartime president. His career track records indicate that you can take it to the bank that this is a “we will never surrender” type of president, and not merely a figure head.
He is not going to get the same international publicity as President Tsai.
Economics, trades, geopolitics, foreign affairs are not his forte. . He will need to rely on Tsai’s team of advisors. He’s personal political agenda is very local-oriented and very humanist. I think he will do well by emphasizing what he’s good at. No need to follow Tsai’s “globalist” style.
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This sounds terrible, especially given what the job of “President” entails.
Guy
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to be fair, isnt this true for all of them?
OK I’ll recap what I think I know about Lai’s accomplishments.
As a lawmaker and as premier (i.e. running the country): I can’t recall a single thing he did.
As mayor of Tainan: he tangled with the corrupt local politicos there and boycotted the city council for what seemed to be forever. Interestingly the corrupt local politicos have kept up their game after he left.
As VP under Tsai: he has proposed the Bilingual Nation 2030 policy, since renamed Bilingual 2030 as apparently the “nation” part was too difficult for people to handle. No one I know is optimistic that the admirable goals of this policy could actually be realized.
Guy
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Tbh I don’t want Taiwan to be bilingual, unless its make everyone bilingual in Mandarin and Taiwanese or Mandarin and an indigenous language.
Lai is off to a good start as DPP chair, with the DPP candidate (and activist professor) Tsai Pei-hui winning a legislative by-election in Nantou. This is big, as the DPP had not won a single seat in Nantou since the current district system was set up in 2008. It’ll certainly help morale on the green side.
Guy
Some analysis coming in about the DPP’s win in Nantou. Aside from consolidating William Lai’s position in the party, it speaks I think to the DPP strategy of running energetic quality candidates (often female) against the old, demonstrable corrupt faction politicians the KMT keeps nominating (both in Nantou and in their defeat in the 2022 Taichung District 2 by-election).
Here’s one report from Focus Taiwan with some analysis:
Guy
So who is William Lai? What can we make of his political career so far, his influences, his priorities, his commitments?
In his latest feature in the Taipei Times, Michael Turton seeks to answer some of these questions. Stick it out to the end—the punchline is severe.
Guy
Can you fill in a bit on the urgent problems that need solving?
You’d have to ask Turton. But at minimum, I suspect that he’d say: environmental protection, setting up an actual humane immigration policy, helping workers more.
With Lai, I think Turton is saying, you’d be getting more of the same pro-business, growth-directed administration. Put otherwise, same old, same old at a time when—Turton implies—Taiwan needs some progressive change.
Guy
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Thanks, I was indeed hoping you’d be our Turton whisperer here 
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