Taichung mayor spurns Eric Chu's call to succeed him as KMT chair

Taichung, Aug. 24 (CNA) Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) has said she will not run to head the Kuomintang (KMT) because she needs to be in Taichung when the city "needs her most" to deal with American tariffs on Taiwan-made goods.

Calling Washington's freshly imposed baseline 20 percent tariff on goods made in Taiwan "a tsunami" for the country, Lu said Sunday that her city, known as a hub for small and medium-sized companies and the machinery sector, is expected to be hard hit.

"Our economy is deteriorating [due to the tariff tsunami] and therefore I have to stand on guard and be with our businesses, our citizens, through the expected hardships ahead," Lu told reporters in Taichung.

"At this most challenging moment, a mother will stay at home," Lu said, referring to her nickname as "Mother Lu" due to her public image as a caring mother.

"This is my promise and I intend to keep it," she said.

Lu's comments were made in response to KMT Chairman Eric Chu's (朱立倫) open support for her to succeed him, following the party's latest victory in a mass recall campaign Saturday.

"I sincerely urge Mayor Lu Shiow-yen to run for the position of KMT chairperson and take on the weighty responsibilities of leading the party" on its return to power, Chu said, after all seven KMT lawmakers targeted Saturday survived recall votes.

He also praised Lu for her "calm, pragmatic and warm leadership," which gave her the kind of strength the KMT and Taiwan need at this moment in time.

The KMT, Taiwan's main opposition party, is set to elect a new leader on Oct. 18, with candidate registration opening in early September. Chu, who is leading the the KMT for the second time since 2021, has already said he has no intention to seek reelection.

On Chu's open call for her to succeed him, Lu thanked him but said the KMT is a democratic party, and it would be "inappropriate" for an outgoing chair to name his or her successor or picking someone to join the chairmanship race.

She also said that despite having no intention to lead the party, "I will be there whenever the party needs me," without elaborating.

Lu, who will reach the two-term limit in December 2026, is widely expected to seek the KMT's leadership and run in the 2028 presidential election, though she has remained cautious about both potential bids.