Enoch Wu (吳怡農), one of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) rising stars, yesterday registered for the race to head its Taipei chapter, with the vote scheduled for Jan. 31.
The post has been vacant for about six months and is considered crucial to the DPP’s campaign in next year’s Taipei mayoral and city councilor elections.
Taipei is considered a stronghold of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), although Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) ran as an independent and is now chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
In last year’s legislative elections, Wu was the DPP’s candidate in Taipei’s 3rd Electoral Districts of Zhongshan-Northern Songshan (中山-松山), which incumbent KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) won by a narrow margin.
Surrounded by the press, Wu, the deputy chief executive officer of the New Frontier Foundation, yesterday morning filled out the registration papers at the DPP Taipei chapter office.
He is viewed as a strong potential contender for the Taipei mayoral race next year.
“It is too early to talk about the 2022 Taipei mayoral election,” Wu said, adding that if he is elected DPP Taipei chapter chairman, his main goal would be to lead the party in winning a majority of the councilor seats in next year’s elections.
“The 2022 election is definitely a big challenge. We have much work to do at the grassroots level, to enhance links and better communication with civic groups, to increase party membership and bolster support in Taipei, and to promote a more efficient party administration,” he said.
Wu’s father is Academia Sinica research fellow Wu Nai-teh (吳乃德), who had participated in the publication of Formosa Magazine in the early years of Taiwan’s democracy movement.
He is also a nephew of Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), a former DPP secretary-general who headed the party’s supposedly now-disbanded New Tide faction.
Another candidate for the Taipei chapter post is former Taipei city councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), who is the daughter of former DPP Legislator Yen Chin-fu (顏錦福).
Wu met with party leaders in the past few days and has been endorsed by former Taipei chapter chairman Huang Cheng-kuo (黃承國).
He kept mum when asked if he had met and received the backing of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“Running for DPP Taipei chapter chairperson office was not part of my plan ... but I have heard from many respected elders and friends about their high expectations for the DPP’s growth and development,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. “It is an honor to have this opportunity to work together and strive for the future.”
If he wins, he would focus on building party solidarity, as well as promoting progress and innovation, he wrote.
“It is my hope for society to see that people from all kinds of background can engage in party affairs, and see that the DPP is an open-minded party that is full of diversity,” he said.
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