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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen Jokes About Being Ambushed at Night by the ‘Hairy Su Tseng-chang’

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai has published a book about the city’s transformation during his 2,314 days in office.
  • In a recommendation for the book, former President Tsai Ing-wen praised Chen’s speed, policy focus and persistence through political setbacks.
  • Tsai said Chen often called late at night to seek support, but she would defer decisions until morning when she could think clearly.

Former President Tsai Ing-wen says Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai is essentially “Su Tseng-chang with hair,” a playful reference to his rapid pace and relentless calls for support. She made the remark in a recommendation for Chen’s new book, “Kaohsiung, Fast and Faster: 2,314 Days of Extreme Transformation.”

Tsai recalled that Chen often launched “night raids” by telephone to seek construction and government assistance. “He would call in the middle of the night, when everyone was very sleepy, and force you to remember everything he said. How painful was that?” she said. Chen would explain matters in detail from beginning to end, she added, even when the person on the other end was nearly asleep.

Su Tseng-chang with hair

· Tsai Ing-wenTsai jokingly compared Chen Chi-mai’s energetic working style with that of former premier Su Tseng-chang.

Tsai said she had developed her own defense: never negotiate or make decisions while her mind was unclear. She would respond, “Okay, I’ll ask a few people and then we’ll see,” record the request, and ask staff to handle it the next morning.

He would call in the middle of the night, when everyone was very sleepy, and force you to remember everything he said. How painful was that?

· Tsai Ing-wenTsai recalled Chen’s late-night calls to seek construction and government support.

In her written recommendation, Tsai described Chen as a politician whose defining traits were frequent phone calls, a fast rhythm and close attention to policy and detail. She recalled inviting him to become the Democratic Progressive Party’s deputy secretary-general after taking over as party chair in 2008. She also described his work as deputy premier, including efforts on African swine fever prevention, COVID-19 control, the national mask team and cross-ministry coordination.

Chen returned to serve Kaohsiung in 2020 after losing an earlier mayoral race. Tsai said the city began moving with unusual energy during his tenure. Chen’s first book launch took place in Taipei with President Lai Ching-te and other senior figures attending. A second event is planned in Kaohsiung on the sixth, with Tsai, former Premier Su Tseng-chang and mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung invited.

Okay, I’ll ask a few people and then we’ll see

· Tsai Ing-wenShe described the response she used to postpone decisions during Chen’s late-night calls.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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