TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Taipei deputy mayor and independent politician Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) on Thursday (April 6) expressed her unequivocal support for former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in his bid for the presidency.

In the same FB post, she also unveiled her new identity as a member of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) founded and led by Ko. She said she hoped to join the force dedicated to shaking off partisan polarization in the legislature and corruption in local politics.

"The 340,000 votes I secured in the local elections last November, and the hope behind the votes, continued to remind me of my mission and where I'm meant to be." Huang said she made her choice to join the TPP and believes in Ko as a leader, an embodiment of honesty and integrity, after three years of close observation of Ko.

"He is not perfect in my eyes, but the positive changes he brought to the city are quite obvious, including better financial discipline, pursuit of fairness and justice, greater openness and transparency, human-centered governance with pragmatic values," she added.

"There is a growing number of voters aware of the polarization and looking for a change. If the change was made in Taipei City, I believe that it could be expanded to the whole country."

Huang said the priority on her bucket list for now is to support Ko's presidential bid for 2024 and she will join Ko's visit to the U.S. to meet politicians and business leaders. She dismissed rumors that she could run for a seat in the legislature or other public posts.