Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) on Saturday said he would run in the Taipei mayoral election next year and accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of overstepping his authority.
Yao said the mayor has failed to live up to the expectations of grassroots supporters during the three years he has been in office.
“The atmosphere at party headquarters is always changing, but the latest polls show that many DPP supporters feel that Mayor Ko is out of touch with the expectations that people had for his administration,” Yao said.
Ko has said he would break down the barrier between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but ended up wandering between them, Yao said, adding that Ko’s political activities have gone beyond the concerns of a mayor.
“Taipei is not only the nation’s capital, but also the engine of its economy. Yet, in the past few years the city’s economy has shrunk and has been surpassed by New Taipei City,” Yao said, adding that the problem seems to have stemmed from a lack of cooperation between civic groups and local government departments on issues such as land rights.
The Taipei City Government’s performance calls for a new mayor, Yao said, citing the city’s failure to launch the Taipei Twin Towers project after it was marred by corruption allegations in 2014.
There is a lack of enthusiasm about the Summer Universiade that is to take place in Taipei next month, whereas Tokyo residents are already excited about the 2020 Olympics, Yao added.
Yao said he would continue promoting “green” energy, “smart” technology and other infrastructure projects after the Universiade, but added that he hopes the city would put all of its energy into the Games and return to other projects after the event is over.
Yao said the DPP would hold its national congress in September and is expected to discuss the candidates for next year’s elections as well as the party’s relationship with Ko.
The DPP would await the results of a public opinion poll before deciding whether to maintain ties with Ko, a source said.
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