TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The campaign office of independent presidential candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘) said on Sunday (Sept. 17) that his recently announced running mate, Tammy Lai (賴佩霞), is willing to step down if a consolidated presidential ticket with other opposition candidates can be arranged.
Campaign spokesperson Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) said that Gou’s primary purpose is to serve “mainstream public opinion” to encourage all opposition parties to field the strongest possible candidates on a single presidential ticket, reported CNA. The announcement made it clear that Gou still seeks to combine forces with other opposition candidates, namely Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) or Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Huang’s statement that Lai is willing to step down from the ticket if Hou or Ko are willing to work with Gou comes only three days after she was officially selected by Gou on Sept. 14. The announcement also comes on the heels of reports that Lai initiated proceedings to renounce her U.S. citizenship on Friday (Sept. 15), a process that can take up to six months.
Huang said Lai is a great “chess player” and equal in ability to other candidates in the race. However, the announcement's subtext is that she may be playing the role of a pawn in Gou's plan to integrate presidential campaigns with his more popular opponents.
The announcement from Gou's campaign office that Lai may simply serve as a placeholder and recent uncertainty surrounding her dual nationality will stir suspicion about Gou’s overall campaign strategy. With less than four months before the presidential election, scheduled on Jan. 13, 2024, there is very little time remaining to register new or reformulated presidential campaign tickets with the Central Election Commission.
