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there are still more than two years to go before the 2026 taiwan region's "nine-in-one" county and city elections, and political parties have begun to lay out their plans. veteran media person xie hanbing believes that people who know taiwan leader lai ching-te know that it is "not impossible" for the democratic progressive party to finally have lai's office secretary-general pan meng'an run for mayor of kaohsiung, because lai has been actively cultivating his own people. interestingly, former taiwan leader tsai ing-wen posted a mid-autumn festival greeting on facebook yesterday (17th), but posted photos of her taking a yacht with kaohsiung mayor chen chi-mai and visiting the asian new bay area. it has sparked speculation that tsai ing-wen's trip may be related to the dpp's internal nomination for the next kaohsiung mayor, which is still "unreconciled." because lai ching-te convened a "bento meeting" of the seven major factions within the dpp at the end of august, it once again triggered outside associations with the "ying faction" and the "lai faction" confrontation.

in the 2026 kaohsiung mayoral election, five people from the green camp have expressed their intention to run. they include legislators lai ruilong, xu zhijie, lin daihua, chiu yiying, and xu mingchun, the former head of the taiwan authorities' labor department. according to a poll released by an agency on the island on the 11th, no matter who the democratic progressive party runs, kmt legislator ko chien is leading in the polls. if lin daihua faces ko chien, 35% support lin daihua and 40% support ko chien; if lai ruilong faces ko chien, 35% support lai ruilong and 40% support ko chien; if xu zhijie faces ko chien, 34% support xu zhijie and 42% support ko chien; if chiu yiying faces ko chien, 34% support chiu yiying and 43% support ko chien; if xu mingchun faces ko chien, 24% support xu mingchun and 45% support ko chien.

ko chien-en recently shouted at a party that "taking care of kaohsiung" is her mission and she hopes to have the opportunity to serve the big family of kaohsiung. when hsu ming-chun was asked what she would think if pan meng-an "dropped in" to run for election, she frankly said, "i have heard about it, but it is just a rumor now."

xie hanbing pointed out yesterday that ko chien-en had already made up his mind to run for election in kaohsiung and had already taken root in kaohsiung. he praised this as the right approach and stressed that continuing to take root and work hard would eventually reap rewards.

xie hanbing also analyzed the kaohsiung mayoral race, believing that the dpp has not yet put forward a formal candidate, and as long as one is decided, the polls will rise. as for whether the dpp will send one of the "five tigers" or pan meng'an to fight his way out, xie hanbing emphasized that people who know lai qingde know that it is "not impossible" to send pan meng'an to run. because lai actively cultivates his own people, and pan is lai's die-hard brother, wouldn't he help arrange a way out?

it is worth noting that through tsai ing-wen's mid-autumn festival greetings yesterday, it is not difficult to see that she affirms the governance of chen chi-mai, the biggest "lord" of the "ying faction" on the stage. at the end of august, lai qingde convened a "bento meeting" of the seven major factions in the democratic progressive party. the representatives of the "ying faction" were chen chi-mai and chiayi county magistrate weng chang-liang. tsai ing-wen posted a photo with chen chi-mai on facebook yesterday on mid-autumn festival, and whether her relationship with the "ying faction" is still close has sparked discussion.

kmt kaohsiung city councilor chiu yu-hsuan believes that tsai ing-wen's visit may be related to the fact that the dpp has not yet reached an agreement on the next kaohsiung mayoral nomination. kmt kaohsiung city councilor chung yi-chung pointed out that chen chi-mai is obviously tsai ing-wen's preferred successor. will he directly challenge lai ching-te in four years? or will he "keep a low profile" and wait a few more years? it is worth observing. ((reported by lin jingxian, a reporter of strait herald stationed in taiwan)