TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kolas Yotaka (谷辣斯．尤達卡), spokesperson for the Office of the President, has dismissed claims the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will use her as “cannon fodder” for the Hualien magistrate race.

The DPP is set to name the candidate for the magistrate election of the eastern county later on Tuesday (July 5) and Kolas is one of the options, per CNA. Hualien is considered a traditional stronghold of the pan-blue camp led by the main opposition party, the Kuomintang.

While acknowledging that it would be a hard battle, the politician said she would rise to the challenge if she had the chance. She made the remark on a radio show on Monday (July 4) hosted by Tsai Shi-ping (蔡詩萍), a writer and media figure.

Kolas described herself as a temperate person who favors a middle-ground approach. Her election will “breathe a fresh breeze of democracy into her homeland of Hualien,” noted the politician, who is from the Amis Indigenous tribe.

The 48-year-old former journalist served as the head of Indigenous affairs in Taoyuan and as a legislator. She became the face of the Cabinet in 2018, before becoming spokeswoman of the Office of the President in 2020.