TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has decided to name Enoch Wu (吳怡農) to run in the Jan. 8 by-election to fill the legislative seat vacated by Taipei City Mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), reports said Wednesday (Nov. 30).

The Kuomintang (KMT) candidate resigned from the Legislative Yuan before the Nov. 26 local elections, making a by-election necessary as more than half his term was still left.

Another potential DPP candidate, Taipei City Councilor Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄), said on his Facebook page that the party leadership had informed him it had chosen Wu. Despite his own ambitions, Ruan said he would support the choice as the party needed unity, the Liberty Times reported.

The Chicago-born Wu, 41, worked in the finance sector in Hong Kong and served in Taiwan’s special forces before turning into a national security adviser to the DPP. He ran against Chiang in the same election district in the Jan. 2020 legislative election. In September, Time Magazine selected Wu as one of its 100 future leaders, mentioning his non-governmental organization, the Forward Alliance.

The KMT has not named a candidate yet, with several recently re-elected Taipei City Council members ruling themselves out. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has said it will not take part in the by-election, waiting until Jan. 2024 to name a candidate for a full legislative term.

Earlier Wednesday, the DPP announced it had chosen Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) as its interim chair after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) resigned from the party leadership following the disappointing results of the local elections.