Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) yesterday threw his hat in the ring for the chairperson election at the KMT’s Taipei chapter, vowing to help the party win the Taipei mayoral election next year and secure a majority in the Taipei City Council.
Chung, who has spoken openly about also seeking the KMT’s nomination for the Taipei mayoral race, was the first to register for the chapter head election scheduled for next month.
Former Taipei Department of Civil Affairs commissioner Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT official Chen Chao-nan (陳朝男) and Datong District (大同) chapter chairman Wei Sheng-huang (魏昇煌) are also expected to register for the election.
Chung said that his goals for the KMT’s Taipei chapter are to help win the Taipei mayoral election and secure at least 32 of the 63 Taipei City Council seats.
The KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party each have 26 seats on the current council.
A major policy of his campaign platform is to provide young people with opportunities to represent the KMT in the Taipei city councilor election, Chung said.
If he wins, he would reform the nomination process for KMT city councilor candidates, so that it would be a bottom-up decisionmaking process, Chung said.
Six slots would be reserved for younger KMT members nominated through online and telephone polls, as well as a referendum, he said.
Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Pi-chu (吳碧珠), Taipei City Councilor Carolyn Chieh (闕枚莎) and former minister of health and welfare Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) were at KMT headquarters to support Chung when he registered.
Wu said Chung was the “best candidate” for the post, and his election would be a “good start” for the KMT’s strategic planning for next year’s elections.
Yaung praised Chung as hard-working and a “dynamo” at the city council, saying he would back him in the chapter election.
However, he was not so supportive of the idea of Chung running for Taipei mayor, saying he would like to see former premier Simon Chang (張善政), an independent, join the KMT primary.
“He [Chung] needs more experience and should wait a little longer. If Chang refuses to run, then I will support him,” Yaung said.
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