Lai Jui-long Kaohsiung mayoral campaign

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayoral candidate Lai Jui-long has introduced several policy platforms as part of his campaign for the Kaohsiung mayoralty.

Initially, Lai focused on civil defense and urban resilience, proposing a “Four-Way Protection” policy. This initiative seeks to establish four support groups consisting of volunteer police, traffic assistants, firefighters, and criminal investigators to protect the city against extreme weather, disasters, and sudden crises. The plan includes upgrading equipment, utilizing smart technology, adjusting responder subsidies, and encouraging youth participation through service-learning credits.

As the campaign progressed, Lai expanded his platform to include cultural, industrial, and social welfare objectives. His ‘Culture Kaohsiung, World Stage’ policy aims to connect local stories to a global audience, while his economic plans involve upgrading the Qianzhen Technology Industrial Park and advancing the Asia New Bay Area. Additionally, Lai proposed increasing childbirth subsidies from 30,000 to 50,000 TWD and expanding the benefits of senior citizen cards to include health promotion.

Lai recently detailed his ‘Cultural Kaohsiung, World Stage’ blueprint, which includes seven major directions and 18 specific plans. The policy seeks to transform the city from a venue-based hub into a producer of cultural content by revitalizing local history and preserving traditional arts such as opera and glove puppetry. It also targets the development of film, music, animation, and gaming industries to establish a ‘Southern Discourse’ rooted in maritime and indigenous histories.

During this announcement, Lai launched a political attack against Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Ko Chih-en, accusing him of contributing to a reduction of over 1.3 billion TWD in cultural budgets during legislative sessions.