According to the United Daily News, Li appeared on Saturday night at the “Chairman Talks” event at Sanchong Stadium in New Taipei. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, also of the KMT, came to show support. Campaign songs played, supporters cheered, and applause after Li’s speech lasted more than 30 seconds.

Li, who is 68, said he never expected to run for mayor at that age. The paper quoted him stressing 40 years of public works and administrative experience: critics say he is old, he said, but that is an advantage, and his experience is something his opponent lacks.

Policy pitch and examples

Li said he has visited markets, temples, fishing harbors and farms in all 29 districts of New Taipei and heard practical needs. The UDN said he argued that governing a city cannot rely on publicity and criticized so-called ‘billboard wars’. Recalling his time in Kaohsiung, he said he used the road in front of the mayor’s residence as the quality benchmark for public works and wants to apply it citywide.

Citing concerts at the Taipei Dome, he said regulations lag behind real needs, and that land-use procedures can take months to rewrite and submit for review. The UDN also reported that he criticized the Executive Yuan for declining to countersign a legislatively passed bill on health-insurance premium exemptions for seniors.

Li named the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate, Su Chiao-hui, and questioned why she had not spoken up for the elderly. A direct response from Su’s camp was not confirmed in this reporting.

Chiang’s ‘treasure’ remark and the variables

The UDN reported that Chiang called Li the ‘most precious treasure’ of Taipei and urged New Taipei voters to back him. Li said that if elected he would work with Chiang on a ‘win-win’ approach for the two cities. The paper noted that New Taipei has more than 4 million residents, over 800,000 of them aged 65 or older, which points to senior issues as a campaign focus. We have not independently verified those figures or any poll results.