By Eryk Michael Smith/Staff – Image via Liberty Times shows DPP lawmaker Lin Tai-hua speaking to the media.
KAOHSIUNG — With the DPP’s Kaohsiung mayoral primary moving into its final stretch, incumbent lawmaker Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺) has stopped short of the clean, unconditional pledge her three rivals have made: that they will not run as an independent if they lose the nomination. At a Jan. 3 televised policy presentation, Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆), Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑), and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) publicly committed to accepting the primary outcome and backing the winner, while Lin responded that “as long as the system is fair,” there would be no possibility of a breakaway candidacy; language that left room for interpretation about what she would do if she believed the process was not fair. (TVBS)
On Jan. 4, Liberty Times framed the same issue as a unity test, quoting all four contenders saying they want to “unite to protect Kaohsiung,” but noting Lin added the condition of procedural fairness when pressed again after the event. (YouTube)
Other coverage has treated the “will she bolt from the DPP?” question as the central subplot of the primary’s closing phase. TVBS highlighted that Lin did not directly answer the “no independent run” prompt in the same way as the other three candidates, while a Formosa TV (民視) news clip and NOWNews described Lin’s stance as contingent on the party’s process being fair. (TVBS)
Some experts note that should Lin choose to run as an independent, the DPP vote will almost certainly be split, leading to a very real chance of a KMT victory.
