DPP nominates candidates for Kinmen

The DPP's central standing committee nominated its candidates for Kinmen offices for the year-end elections yesterday.

The party has tapped legislator-at-large Chen Zau-nan (陳昭南) to run for Kinmen County commissioner.

To represent Kinmen in the Legislative Yuan, the DPP has called upon Chen Tsang-chiang (陳滄江), a member of the Fujian Provincial Council.

After receiving their nominations, both men vowed to defend the rights of Kinmen residents.

"Once I am elected, I'll work as a bridge between the central and local governments to safeguard Kinmen residents' rights," Chen Tsang-chiang told reporters yesterday.

Both candidates face an uphill battle. The remote constituency has never been hospitable to DPP candidates.

Last year, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his running mate Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) came in a distant third in the county, receiving just 753 votes.

James Soong (宋楚瑜) and Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄) were the top vote-getters with approximately 20,000 votes.

The KMT's Lien Chan (連戰) and Vincent Hsiao (蕭萬長) secured roughly 3,000 votes.

In June, the DPP said Chen Zau-nan would run for the county's legislative seat. Since then, he has been posted on Kinmen and has helped evaluate the effectiveness of the Cabinet's "small three links" policy implemented in January.

But the DPP's Kinmen division later disputed the party's choice of Chen Zau-nan for the legislature, and so the party instead said he would run for commissioner.

"This is where my duty begins. The government has failed for too long to realize its promises to Kinmen, harming the rights and interests of local residents," Chen said yesterday.

Chen said the DPP government should address issues that concern Kinmen residents' livelihood to win their support.