Taiwan's former president Tsai Ing-wen backed Kaohsiung's outgoing mayor and his likely successor at a book event, a friendly signal for the ruling party's hold on the southern city.

• Outgoing Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-mai launched a book about his six years remaking the city.
• Tsai Ing-wen joked that Chen works so hard people call him a "desperado," while successor hopeful Lai Jui-lung is a "workaholic" who wears himself out.
• She said Chen used to call her constantly with very specific demands about Kaohsiung, sometimes late at night.
• She summed up his record as real change people can feel, singling out finishing the city's light rail loop despite public pushback.
• She said Lai already knows Kaohsiung well and has helped win central government money for its projects, calling him someone she can trust with the job.

Outlook: The handover sets up Lai Jui-lung as the continuity candidate for Kaohsiung, with pressure on him to build on Chen's record rather than copy it.