TAIPEI, Taiwan — By now, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) must have a go-to statement in his pocket. Hsu found himself in a little Groundhog Day situation Wednesday when he came out to reject rumors that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) would take over from Premier Lin Chuan (林全) by the end of the year or in early next. Two days earlier, Hsu had rebutted rumors that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) was the premier-in-waiting. The new round of rumors about Chen came from the United Daily News, which quoted senior Democratic Progressive Party figures as saying that the current premier would bow out after the Legislative Yuan has passed the central government budget for 2018. Chen would take his place and assist President Tsai Ing-wen in running both the country and the campaign for the 2018 mayoral elections, UDN claimed.

Source: The China Post July 26, 2017 08:15 UTC