* Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu led a delegation on a whirlwind tour through Kuala Lumper and Singapore this week. The purpose of the visit was to promote fruits and other agricultural products from the southern port city to SE Asia. The trip was largely viewed as a big success that inevitably fuelled speculation on Han's plans, if any, toward next year's presidential race.
* The popular mayor does not stop with just one trip to SE Asia. He plans a tour of southern port cities in China next month to, again, promote agricultural goods of Kaohsiung. In addition, Han will visit the US in April, when he will give his first public speech since taking over as mayor.
* According to various opinion polls in recent weeks, Han remains the odds-on favourite from the Kuomintang (KMT) to win the 2020 presidential election. It's unclear if he plans to run next year, but it's difficult to see him walking from the near-feverish support among Pan-blue's rank-and-file, demanding his candidacy as the only prescription for a sure victory next year.
* As the local media continues to hype up the possible showdown between Han and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je--the two leading politicians in Taiwan, on and off the Internet--in the 2020 contest, it remains a distinct possibility when the campaign kicks off in the second half of the year. If and when that happens, the DPP candidate--whether it's President Tsai Ing-wen or former Premier William Lai--will likely be marginalised. Issues like cross-Strait relation and nuclear energy figure to be the key in this emotion-laden race.
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