By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) joked that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai’s (陳其邁) late-night telephone calls about city projects were “torture.”
Chen responded that he would call her again…to say thank you.
The exchange accompanied publicity for a forthcoming book tentatively translated as Kaohsiung Against the Clock: 2,314 Days of All-Out Transformation (高雄，緊緊緊！ 2314天極限轉型).
The Chinese title uses Chen’s repeated catchphrase 緊緊緊, which conveys urgency and the pressure of trying to complete an ambitious schedule within limited time. A literal translation such as “tight, tight, tight” would not carry that meaning in English.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Chen said the book records the problems, decisions and political negotiations that shaped Kaohsiung during his six years as mayor.
According to the Kaohsiung City Government, the book was initiated by Business Today Publishing and draws on interviews with Chen, current and former city department heads, academics and government officials. It is therefore a compiled account of his administration rather than a conventional memoir written solely by Chen.
Its subjects include TSMC’s decision to build facilities in Kaohsiung, completion of the circular light rail line, Metro expansion, the proposed Freeway No. 7, the Ciaotou Science Park (橋頭科學園區), net-zero policies and the city’s use of concerts and major events to stimulate the local economy.
Chen credited Tsai, former premiers Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) with helping Kaohsiung secure central government support for several of those projects.
Tsai, who contributed a foreword, recalled that Chen frequently telephoned late at night to pursue projects or check their progress.
Chen told reporters that if former president Tsai had complained sooner, he would not have called so late.
“I would have called earlier,” he joked, adding that the calls still had to be made.
Chen said he had also contacted politicians from both major parties, including former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), whenever he believed they could help Kaohsiung.
“If it benefits Kaohsiung, I’ll make the call,” he said.
The book uses the 2,314-day span of Chen’s mayoral tenure as its framework, beginning with his inauguration following the 2020 mayoral by-election and extending through the end of his second term.
A previous report by the Central News Agency said the book would be available for preorder beginning Aug. 21 and officially released Aug. 27. Chen is due to leave office at the end of this year because of Taiwan’s two-term limit for municipal mayors.
