Current vice president and 2024 presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) says that Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) tops his list of vice presidential running mates. Lai made the comments during a televised interview on Tuesday, adding that both male and female candidates made the list, but he is giving priority to female candidates.
Although Lai did not reveal the full roster of names, he did mention that former Culture Minister Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) was also being considered for the role. Lai said the shortlist includes people not only from politics but also from scientific, technological, and cultural circles.
The news comes as two of Lai’s main rivals for the presidency met late Tuesday night to discuss running on a joint ticket. The conversations between KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), KMT party chair Eric Chu (朱立倫), and TPP candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) ended without an agreement. However, both Ko and Hou said that negotiations were ongoing, leaving the possibility open. However, Ko said on Wednesday that the exact process by which the presidential and vice presidential positions for the joint ticket would be chosen would not be made public before the results are announced.