Lai says a bigger microphone awaits Kaohsiung mayor Chen after he leaves office

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai may be leaving city hall at the end of the year, but President Lai Ching-te says his public role is not about to grow quieter. In a recommendation for Chen’s new book, Lai wrote that a “bigger microphone” would be waiting for him.

Chen presented “Kaohsiung, Moving Fast: 2,314 Days of Extreme Transformation,” a book about the port city’s transformation. Lai described Chen as a professional and decisive administrator willing to take responsibility. He highlighted Chen’s work as deputy premier during the most urgent phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he used his public-health expertise to coordinate ministries and help Taiwan maintain its defenses.

After becoming mayor, Chen turned his experience in central government into local governing capacity. Lai said Chen led the city administration at a fast pace, seizing important opportunities for Kaohsiung’s development. He credited the city’s achievements to long-term cooperation between central and local governments, built step by step and passed from one administration to the next.

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A bigger microphone will be waiting for him.

Lai recalled asking Chen during a visit to Kaohsiung on the second day of the Lunar New Year whether the approaching end of his term meant he could relax. Lai said Chen would not rest for long. Chen responded that Kaohsiung stood at a critical point in its transformation and that the work could not let up for a second.

Lai said Chen had turned his affection for Kaohsiung into concrete changes and expressed hope that readers would see the city’s progress as the result of a mayor’s sense of mission, teamwork and sustained effort. He added that Chen’s governing experience could inform his future public service, while Kaohsiung’s transformation could offer a reference for other cities and contribute to Taiwan’s continued progress.

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The work cannot ease for even a second.