TAIPEI, Taiwan — Rumors circulating in the media that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) would be tapped to serve as premier in September were just that, senior government officials and Lai himself said Monday. Local media reported that two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association President Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), had talked Lai into taking the job overseeing the Executive Yuan. In response to the reports, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said Monday that "there is no such thing (as these plans)." Reports of Lai being lined up for the premier job have been a constant since shortly after President Tsai Ing-wen took office last May. The mayor, who is widely considered one of the most popular DPP politicians and a potential successor — and challenger — to Tsai, is seen as a means of propping up the Executive Yuan.

Source: The China Post July 24, 2017 06:22 UTC