Annette Lu Withdraws from Taipei City Mayor Race|宣布不選北市長 呂秀蓮狠批民進黨

Former Vice President Annette Lu announced on Aug. 5 that she was pulling out of the Taipei City mayor race, and also took the opportunity to criticize the Democratic Progressive Party, saying it "raised a tiger" when it lost the Taipei City mayor race to Ko Wen-je in 2014, and directly said that the greatest blame, lies with President Tsai Ing-wen.


Former Vice President Annette Lu withdrew from the Democratic Progressive Party after failing to get the party's nomination for Taipei City mayor. At the time, many predicted she would run as an independent. On the 5th, Lu announced she was pulling out of the race. A day later, she fired broadsides at President Tsai Ing-wen while discussing a forecast on how Taiwan's political landscape would change after the elections on Nov. 24.

Any DPP nominee for mayor or magistrate could have been elected during the democracy tsunami that took place after the Sunflower Student Movement. So, [Ko Wen-je] getting elected was you raising a tiger. Everyone knows it. It's very possible that not too long after Nov. 24, Ko will announce he is giving up his mayoral duties to prepare for a presidential run. President Tsai Ing-wen, you need to take the lion's share of responsibility for this.

Lu said the DPP handed Taipei City to Ko Wen-je on a silver platter in 2014 despite having a real shot of winning with its own candidate. She also pointed out the DPP's candidate this year, Pasuya Yao, is very unpopular and Ko has a huge chance of getting reelected. Will Ko set his sights on the Presidential Office next? Experts say it's very likely.

The presidential election will take place just 13 months after the year-end elections. Will the white power camp have a chance? Who will the pan-blue and pan-green camps nominate?

If [Ko Wen-je] is willing -- regardless of whether he gives up his mayoral duties -- sometimes current events create heroes. Will Ko be able to resist the temptation that's right there in front of him? This is a real question.

Analysts say there will be three major players in the 2020 presidential election: the pan-blue camp, the pan-green camp, and the white power camp. With just over 100 days remaining until the local elections, the blue and green camps seem evenly matched. However, the lowest approval rating ever garnered by a DPP candidate for Taipei City mayor was 35.8 percent and Yao's approval rating has never managed to make it into double digits. Lu says Ko will be the biggest beneficiary from her withdrawal from the race and the DPP will need to take responsibility if it loses the election.