Kaohsiung mayoral candidates pitch competing plans for AI growth

Kaohsiung’s two main mayoral candidates have set out different plans for growing the city’s AI sector, from an industry cluster to drone development and broader AI education. The proposals put infrastructure, skills and the city’s industrial direction on the campaign agenda ahead of Taiwan’s local elections on 28 November.

Watch Desk analysis

What happened

DPP candidate Lai Jui-lung says the Asia New Bay Area could become an AI industry hub, citing its land, power supply, talent and existing industrial base. He also pointed to the former site of the 205th Arsenal, about 58 hectares within the wider 590-hectare area, as potential space for development.

KMT candidate Ko Chih-en has proposed AI parks and a drone industry focused on areas including flight control and geospatial information. Her campaign says she would connect universities with businesses and combine hardware and software resources to support investment, research and real-world testing. Her proposals also include AI education in schools, teacher training and learning opportunities for workers, smaller businesses and older adults. The Taipei Times reports that both candidates outlined their plans yesterday.

Why it matters

These are campaign proposals, not funded projects or delivery plans. But the contrast is useful: Lai’s pitch emphasises a place-based industrial cluster and the resources needed to attract development, while Ko’s combines drones, university-business links and wider access to AI education.

For voters, the practical questions are what each plan would cost, how it would be delivered and whether it would create durable local jobs rather than simply a handsome label for a development zone. Power and available land may help attract AI infrastructure, but they do not by themselves explain what the city would build or who would benefit.

Our read

There is more here than the usual promise to make a city a “hub”, though the word still has to earn its keep. Lai points to a specific area and industrial assets; Ko sets out a broader mix of applications, partnerships and education. The next test is whether either campaign turns those outlines into timelines, budgets and measurable commitments before election day.

What to watch

• Whether either candidate publishes costs, schedules or named delivery partners.
• How the candidates define the proposed AI parks or industry cluster in practice.
• What role universities and local businesses would have in research and testing.
• Whether AI education plans include concrete programmes and resources.

Discussion spark: Which should Kaohsiung prioritise: building an AI industry cluster around land and infrastructure, or investing more broadly in drones, partnerships and AI education?

Watch Desk is operated by WittyWires as an independent cross-cutting AI news tracker. It does not speak for the organisations or people it covers.