Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday said they had confidence that Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) would look at the big picture and not make an independent bid in the year-end Greater Kaohsiung mayoral election.
“Party headquarters believes that Yang will look at [what’s best] for the DPP and that things will be resolved in the end,” DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said.
Yang lost the party primary to Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) on May 5. Since then, local media have reported rumors of infighting between Yang and Chen, and have speculated that Yang may enter the election as an independent candidate.
Yang is widely seen as having been disappointed by the telephone poll that was used in the party primaries. He was listed along with Chen as two of the three most highly ranked mayors in a recent poll by the Chinese-language United Daily News.
Lin’s remarks came after Yang earlier yesterday revealed for the first time since the primary that he may be considering running for mayor of Greater Kaohsiung as an independent candidate.
When approached for comment, Yang said it was a “rumor” that he would enter the election, but added that he was caught in a dilemma.
“[My] supporters have different voices [from the party’s]. Of course, it is very difficult to make a choice. I have a responsibility to serve the people,” he said.
Commenting on the issue during a campaign stop in Taipei County yesterday, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters “it is all speculation at this point.”
She is understood to have traveled to the south several times over the past month in attempts to not only consolidate the DPP’s efforts in the Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan elections, but also to downplay any potential rivalries.
At a separate setting yesterday, the DPP’s candidate for Taipei mayor, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), said he believed Yang would manage to “swallow his dissatisfaction.”
“He’s a good person and a very hard-working, clean-cut county commissioner ... I don’t think it will come to this,” he said, refering to a split in the party.
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