The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) is to stand by its candidate in the Jhubei City (竹北) mayoral race, following a breakdown in talks with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over their competing candidates, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said today.
Yesterday was the first day for candidates in the upcoming November elections to pick up registration forms.
KMT Hsinchu County Councilor Wu Hsu-chih (吳旭智) quickly picked up a form for the Jhubei mayoral race, raising questions about cooperation between the two opposition parties.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The TPP is planning on fielding former Hsinchu City deputy mayor Andy Chiu (邱臣遠).
Since last year, the TPP and KMT have worked together on their local election platforms, reaching agreements and coordinating in various electoral districts as part of their push for joint governance, Huang told a news conference today.
“Throughout this process, I can say with a clear conscience that the TPP has kept every agreement it has made with the KMT,” he said.
Although the two parties never signed a formal agreement on the greater Hsinchu races, they had agreed that the TPP would not nominate a candidate for Hsinchu County commissioner and instead support KMT candidate Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), while the TPP would run its own candidate for Jhubei mayor to give the two parties the best chance of winning, Huang said.
Considering that former TPP chairman Ke Wen-je (柯文哲) is from Hsinchu County, the TPP would have put forward a candidate in the opinion polls if the two parties had not reached a consensus, he said.
Huang said that when he met with KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Wednesday night, she said she could not resolve the dispute over the Jhubei race.
Cooperation between the two parties would not work if one side fails to keep its commitments, he said, adding that the TPP would not change course because of the KMT's internal divisions.
However, there have been no issues so far with bipartisan cooperation in other cities and counties, he added.
Cheng in a news release today said that the Jhubei race is highly unique, with local ties, the makeup of the electorate and the parties’ overall strategy all requiring careful consideration.
Although the two sides made different assessments about the candidates, this does not change their shared commitment to cooperation, she said.
The KMT and TPP remain committed to working together to win the local elections and meet people’s expectations, she said, adding that they would continue communicating and deepening their cooperation.
In Jhubei, The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plans to field candidate Tseng Sheng-kai (曾聖凱).
Former TPP legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) on Tuesday announced she also intends to run in the Jhubei race as an independent, although her eligibility is in question.
Li stoked controversy earlier this year amid questions regarding her Chinese nationality status and therefore eligibility to run for office and serve as a legislator.
She lost her seat in April after the TPP revoked her party membership.
Jhubei is currently led by Cheng Chao-fang (鄭朝方) of the DPP, who has been tapped to run for Hsinchu County commissioner.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar
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