Lai Ching-de, the ruling Democratic Party’s candidate who is ranked first in approval ratings among Taiwan’s presidential candidates, plans to nominate Xiao Mei-qin, Taiwan’s ambassador to the United States, as his vice-presidential candidate.
Bloomberg News, citing multiple sources, announced on the 16th that candidate Lai Ching-de personally selected Taiwan’s ambassador to the United States, who has deep connections with U.S. officials, ahead of the presidential election in January next year.
According to sources, an official announcement will be made after Ambassador Xiao Mei-qin returns to Taiwan from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting being held in San Francisco.
Another source said that Xiao Mei-qin is expected to play a key role in Taiwan-U.S. relations because he has built strong relationships with U.S. officials. “He has the necessary international experience,” he said.
Vincent Chao, a spokesman for the Lai Qingde camp, did not confirm whether Xiao Meiqin would be nominated as vice president, but said an announcement would be made on the 20th. Chao said, “The vice president candidate will reaffirm to the international community the promise that democracy, peace, and prosperity will be Taiwan’s values.”
Bloomberg News said, “Xiao Meiqin, who has been serving as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States since 2020, has been considered as Lai Chingde’s likely running mate for several months,” and added, “Like Lai Chingde, Xiao Meiqin is strongly disliked by the Chinese authorities. “He was sanctioned twice by China for comments supporting Taiwanese independence.”
In fact, Xiao Mei-qin was sanctioned by China when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year. Afterwards, when Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States for a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April, Chinese authorities imposed ‘lifetime sanctions’ on Xiao Mei-qin, saying she would not be able to enter China for the rest of her life.
Meanwhile, with Taiwan’s presidential election approaching in two months, Lai Ching-de, the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate seeking Taiwan’s independence, has been recording an approval rating in the low 30% range for several months, and Hou Yui, the main opposition Kuomintang candidate (low 20%), has been showing an approval rating in the low 20% range. ) and the second opposition People’s Party candidate Kerwonzer (mid to high 20%).
However, as the opposition parties, including the Kuomintang and the People’s Party, agreed to unify candidates the previous day, uncertainty is growing in the presidential election.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.