It is highly unlikely that opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will contest the Taipei County commissioner election, a DPP official said on Saturday.
The speculation arose after a top aide of Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in a corruption case, throwing uncertainty on Chou’s potential re-election bid late next year.
The Chinese-language United Daily News reported that some members of the DPP in Taipei County had been attempting to persuade Tsai to run against Chou in the election.
They hoped that the popular chairwoman and her fresh image would be able to produce a “coattail effect” in the city and county head elections, it said.
DPP Vice Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said, however, that he personally felt the idea was unfeasible, especially with the nomination process for the races set to begin soon.
“The nomination process for the 2009 local chief elections is expected to be completed by the end of this year,” he said.
“The nomination will be flexible and not rigid, but the strategy team has yet to discuss specific individuals,” he said, adding that the party’s election strategy team was scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
DPP sources said that former Executive Yuan secretary-general Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) and former legislator Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) were keen to run for Taipei County chief and that the DPP might also try to persuade former National Police Agency head Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) to join the race as well, given his popularity.
Tsai, a former professor, legislator and vice premier, took over the helm of the party in May following its major setbacks in the legislative and presidential elections.
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