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Vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-Khim shares how she decided to join the Lai ticket
Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-Khim is now the running mate of DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te. In a televised interview over the weekend, Hsiao revealed why she acquiesced to the challenge. As for the alleged U.S.’ mistrust of Lai who has called himself a "pragmatic worker" for Taiwanese independence, Hsiao pointed out that of all the candidates, Lai is the one who insists on continuing to follow President Tsai Ing-wen’s path of diplomacy.
In a televised interview over the weekend, Hsiao Bi-Khim related how she accepted Lai Ching-te’s invitation to be his running mate.
Hsiao Bi-Khim
DPP vice presidential candidate
I kept telling him that Taiwan has so many people with better political abilities than me, who are more eloquent than me, or even have greater ambitions than me, while I’ve reached a stage of being uninterested in fame and fortune. So I have never felt there was ever the need to consider me for this position, and I have never imagined myself in this position. But President Tsai is very caring. She is a bit like a mother. However, my running in the election means that she needs to think about who will take over the position of representative in the U.S., and she still needs to make some arrangements, but she wasn’t the key factor in my decision. There were many Taiwanese folks who tried to persuade me because they were concerned about the political atmosphere in Taiwan a few weeks ago, and our place in the international community.
While Hsiao mentioned how caring President Tsai was, her decision to accept the invitation to run had more to do with the presidential candidate himself.
Hsiao Bi-Khim
DPP vice presidential candidate
I think he is a warm-hearted doctor, and since he’s a doctor, he wants to take care of people. For example, during our discussion, he mentioned that I should come back to Taiwan to run in the election. I told him that this would make my stomach ulcer more serious, and then he said, well, I happen to be a doctor. I can help you with this. In fact, he has this warm side, but he is also insistent and serious at the same time.
While the Lai-Hsiao ticket is for the continuation of the DPP’s governance, there has been talk of the U.S. mistrusting Lai due to his pro-independence stance. Hsiao reiterated that she and Lai would stay on the path of the Tsai administration.
Hsiao Bi-Khim
DPP vice presidential candidate
I think of all the democratically elected presidents of Taiwan, the one that the U.S. has trusted the most is President Tsai Ing-wen. Among all the current candidates, the one who insists the most on continuing to follow President Tsai Ing-wen’s foreign relations path is Lai Ching-te. Americans trust Tsai Ing-wen’s path, so we will continue on the same path, continue to strengthen Taiwan, continue to connect with the international community, and continue to work very responsibly to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. That’s something most trusted by our American friends.
From cross-strait relations to relations with the U.S., Hsiao firmly stated her ideas as Lai’s running mate, aiming for victory in January.
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2023-11-26