The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday officially named former Taipei deputy mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) as its candidate for New Taipei City mayor, Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) for the position of Yilan County commissioner and physician Weng Shou-liang (翁壽良) as its candidate for Chiayi City mayor.
The nominations were approved at a meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee as part of the party’s list of candidates for the Nov. 28 local elections.
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said Lee’s experience in infrastructure development during his tenure as Taipei deputy mayor makes him the party’s best choice for New Taipei City, adding that Taipei and New Taipei City together could serve as a “locomotive” driving regional development.
Photo : Chang Chia-ming,Taipei Times
Cheng described Wu, a former prosecutor, as a justice-minded legal professional, while saying that the KMT enjoys a strong foundation in Chiayi City under incumbent Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), who has begun helping unify the party behind Weng’s campaign.
All the heads of government of New Taipei City, Yilan County and Chiayi City are currently KMT members, but they are barred from seeking re-election due to term limits.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has nominated chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) as the party’s candidate for New Taipei City mayor, former legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷) as Chiayi City mayor and former legislator Chen Wan-hui (陳琬惠) for Yilan County commissioner.
The KMT said it would negotiate with the TPP on a mechanism to coordinate and potentially field joint candidates.
The two parties are scheduled to present a joint policy platform on Saturday.
After outlining shared policy visions, the KMT and TPP would discuss a mechanism to select the strongest joint candidates in mayoral and county commissioner races, the two parties said.
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