William Lai
| William Lai 賴清德 |
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|---|---|
| William Lai in November 2010 | |
| 1st Mayor of Tainan | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 December 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Hsu Tain-tsair as Mayor of Tainan (Provincial city) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 6, 1959 Wanli, Taipei County (now New Taipei City), Taiwan |
| Political party | Democratic Progressive Party |
| Alma mater | Harvard School of Public Health National Cheng Kung University National Taiwan University |
| Profession | Medical doctor Politician |
| Website | http://www.laichingte.net/ |
William Lai Ching-te[1] (simplified Chinese: 赖清德; traditional Chinese: 賴清德; pinyin: Lài Qīngdé; Wade–Giles: Lài Chīng-té; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Loā Chheng-tek;) is the mayor of Tainan, Taiwan. He took office in the newly created municipality, formed from the merger of Tainan City and Tainan County, on 25 December 2010. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010.
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Pre-political life
Born in Wanli, a rural coastal town in northern Taipei County (now New Taipei City) on October 6 1959, Lai underwent schooling in Taipei City and studied at both National Cheng Kung University in Tainan and National Taiwan University in Taipei, where he specialized in rehabilitation.[1] Lai then studied at the Harvard School of Public Health for a Masters degree in public health,[1] followed by an internship at National Cheng Kung University Hospital. He became an expert on spinal cord damage and served as a national consultant for such injuries.[1]
National Assembly and Legislative Yuan
After serving as part of the support team for Chen Ding-nan's unsuccessful electoral bid for Governor of Taiwan Province in 1994,[2] Lai decided to enter politics himself. The next opportunity for election to a national body was the 1996 National Assembly, with Lai winning a seat representing Tainan City. Lai then stood as a candidate in the 1998 Legislative Yuan election, representing the Democratic Progressive Party in the second ward of Tainan City.[1] He was successful in this election, and subsequently was reelected three times in 2001, 2004, and 2008. In total he served 11 years as a legislator, and was selected as Taiwan's "Best Legislator" four times in a row by Taipei-based NGO Citizen Congress Watch.[3]
2010 Tainan mayoral election
With the 2010 reorganization of the municipalities in Taiwan, Tainan City and Tainan County were amalgamated into a single municipality, called Tainan. After successfully being selected in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) primaries in January 2010,[4] Lai stood as the DPP candidate for the mayoral election on 27 November 2010, gaining 60.41% to defeat Kuomintang candidate Kuo Tien-tsai.[5] He took office on 25 December 2010.
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Progressive Party | 2 | William Lai Ching-te (賴清德) | 619,897 | 60.41% |  |
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| Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) | 1 | Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財) | 406,196 | 39.59% |  |
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| Total | 1,026,093 | 100.00% | ||||
References
- ^ a b c d e "賴清德" (in Chinese). Legislative Yuan. http://www.ly.gov.tw/03_leg/0301_main/legIntro.action?lgno=00105&stage=7.
- ^ (in Chinese) 陳定南的牽手張昭義挺賴清德, NOWnews, http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/101120/17/2hi7z.html
- ^ Lai keeps DPP's solid grip on Tainan, Central News Agency, http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201011270034&Type=aIPL
- ^ "2009民進黨提名縣市長候選人連結" (in Chinese). Democratic Progressive Party. 2010-09-17. http://www.dpp.org.tw/news_content.php?kw=&menu_sn=7&sub_menu=44&sn=3587. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ William Lai takes Tainan by storm, Taipei Times, 28 November 2010, http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/11/28/2003489653
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by Hsu Tain-tsair |
Mayor of Tainan 2010- |
Incumbent |
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