Opposition party and New Taipei mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) criticized the government for failing to make adequate preparations to curb high living costs. Those remarks came as Hou visited vendors at local markets during the recent Tomb-Sweeping holiday.
Hou says vendors told him about the burden caused by rising living costs and electricity prices. He says the government had all the monitoring mechanisms to make adjustments to supply chain disruptions, but failed to do so.
Hou also says poultry farms in Taiwan should have been upgraded to minimize the egg shortage issue. He added that everyone should work together to take care of Taiwan.
At the same time, Hou declined to answer whether a possible presidential bid in 2024 on the opposition KMT ticket. Hou is considered a strong potential candidate for his party’s nomination, but recent Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) has recently expressed interest in also competing to represent the KMT.
Hou says his current focus is on completing his 2030 agenda for New Taipei city.