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Majority of Kaohsiung citizens would not support Han Kuo-yu presidential bid: Wang Jin-pyng

The heavyweight KMT legislator said there was not enough support for the mayor of the southern city to give up his current position

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KMT legislator Wang Jin-pyng.

KMT legislator Wang Jin-pyng. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The majority of citizens in the southern city of Kaohsiung would not support current mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) 2020 bid for presidency, according to Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).

Han indicated on Monday (May 20) that he would agree to be the KMT’s 2020 presidential candidate, if selected by the five-person party mediation team. Wang made his comments in response.

He told reporters that Kaohsiung’s citizens would worry about replacing Han as Kaohsiung mayor, Storm Media reported. Ensuring a smooth transition during the mayoral by-election would be the responsibility of everyone, Wang said, but the heaviest weight would fall on the shoulders of the person vacating the position.

The majority of citizens do not support Han’s participation in the 2020 presidential election because a mayoral by-election is complicated, Wang said. Also, it would be difficult to predict what the outcome would be and whether it would favor the city, he added.

Latest polls from the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation indicate that while Han remains top choice as the KMT’s 2020 candidate among party members, if pitted against current President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the presidential election, he would lose by 6 percent. If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chooses William Lai (賴清德) as its candidate, polls show Han would lose by 14.5 percent, according to Up Media.