The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday formally nominated Presidential Office spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka and DPP Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) as its respective candidates for Hualien and Taitung county commissioners.
The party’s Election Strategy Committee on Tuesday evening said it had tapped Kolas and Liu as the party’s candidates in the Nov. 26 elections. The recommendations were yesterday approved by the DPP’s Central Standing Committee.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who doubles as the DPP chairperson, said in a statement on Tuesday that Kolas and Liu were the two “most suitable candidates” to run for Hualien and Taitung, because they have had years of experience working in the central and local governments.
Photo: CNA
Although Hualien and Taitung have long been Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) strongholds, Tsai said she believed Kolas and Liu would do their best to win over the voters and serve the people of their hometowns.
Kolas, who faces KMT incumbent Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) in the elections, was named Presidential Office spokesperson in May 2020, the first indigenous person to hold the position.
The spokeswoman from the Amis Harawan community of Yuli in Hualien County was a journalist and TV anchor for more than a decade before being appointed to head Taoyuan’s Department of Indigenous Affairs in 2014.
She was elected as a legislator in 2016, but resigned two years later to take up the post of Cabinet spokesperson.
Liu is to challenge the KMT’s April Yao (饒慶鈴) for the Taitung county seat, after losing to Yao in the 2018 local government elections by about 20 percent.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Liu said he would strive to win the election, despite the tough challenge ahead.
Although he ran unsuccessfully for Taitung county commissioner five times, he will continue to work hard and offer “a new hope, new force and new direction” for the people of Taitung, Liu added.
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