Taipei Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chen Su-yu (陳思宇), an ardent supporter of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), yesterday registered to contest the legislative seat representing Taipei’s Shilin (士林) and Datong (大同) districts after former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) resigned to focus on last month’s mayoral election.
When asked about her apparent change of heart, Chen said that she had always been prepared to run for a seat and was simply waiting for the right time to do so.
In a three-minute declaration of intent, Chen said that she was running for the position to change the political culture and the lives of Taiwanese, regardless of whether their political views align with those of the pan-green or pan-blue camp.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Faced with a difficult battle, as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the DPP have also named candidates for the seat, Chen said that she would do her utmost to win the public’s support.
When asked whether she would seek another city government post should she not win, Chen said: “I’ll be telling Mayor Ko that I am waiting for him at the central government.”
Chen said her resignation yesterday afternoon marked the closing of her chapter in the Taipei City Government.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
DPP Taipei City Councilor Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) was nominated to run for the Shilin-Datong constituency after talks of a possible collaboration between the party and the “white force” led by Ko, an independent, did not come to pass.
The DPP-Ko cooperation is a non-issue, Ho said, adding that he had supported Ko’s policies when they were sound and opposed them when they were not.
The meeting on Thursday between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Ko symbolized a political settlement between the two camps and continued cooperation in terms of policies, Ho said.
He would endeavor to win back the public’s trust, but would not be unduly concerned with the by-election, Ho said.
Polls show that he should receive support from at least a quarter of the people who voted for Ko in the nine-in-one elections, Ho said.
When asked about media reports that negotiations between the DPP and Ko had broken down, the Taipei mayor said: “We waited, but no one came calling.”
Ko said he was unsure whether anyone in the DPP was actually making the decisions, as the party had not acted, despite there being a lot of talk about possible cooperation.
In response, DPP by-election oversight division convener Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said that there had never been a definitive decision to cooperate with the Ko clique.
Ho’s chances of winning would not be diminished, despite there being no collaboration, Gao said.
Additional reporting by Peng Wan-hsin
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