The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday named Keelung City Councilor Chen Wei-chung (陳薇仲) and neurologist Chan Chih-chun (詹智鈞) as its respective candidates for Keelung mayor and Pingtung County commissioner for the local elections on Nov. 26.
Since it was founded in 2015, the party had never officially fielded a candidate to run for the head of a local government, NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) told a news conference in Taipei.
The nominations of Chen Wei-chung and Chan demonstrate the party’s “ambition” to further its efforts for the benefit of the people and expand its influence across the country, Chen Jiau-hua said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chen Wei-chung, who was first elected to the Keelung City Council in 2018, said that she has held the city government to account over the past four years, focusing on traffic issues, long-term care and policies involving children.
During her stint on the city council, she has also pushed for more public participation in Keelung’s affairs, such as introducing the practice of “participatory budgeting” so that the city’s residents can have more of a say in how the government utilizes taxpayers’ money, Chen Wei-chung said.
She added that she wanted to run for mayor to bring about positive change to the city, which has a population of about 361,300.
The 31-year-old city councilor is to face off against former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑). The Democratic Progressive Party has yet to announce its candidate.
Meanwhile, Chan, who works at Fooyin University Hospital in Pingtung and chairs the NPP’s Pingtung chapter, said the county has rich natural resources, but is affected by serious pollution, such as last year’s oil spill caused by inappropriate management and the illegal dumping of waste by private firms.
This pollution has had a great effect on the county and its 801,200 residents, resulting in a declining population, Chan said, pledging to focus on addressing these problems if elected.
However, the county commissioner race is likely to be challenging for Chan, as he is to face off against DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) and former KMT lawmaker Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉).
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