TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Taitung will be a key battle in the next local elections.

Sources who attended a DPP general meeting on Thursday told CNA that Lai hopes Taitung will turn from the KMT to the DPP in the 2026 elections. They said Lai asked local DPP representatives to lead an all-out effort in the county.

A DPP magistrate in Taitung would be a first for the county. Former DPP candidate Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) came second in Taitung’s last four magistrate elections, losing support each time, and received 36% of the vote in 2022.

Lai tapped Legislator Chuang Jui-sung (莊瑞雄) to lead the DPP’s efforts in Taitung last year after Liu resigned from the party. The party's Indigenous Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) will run for Taitung magistrate, marking the first time an Indigenous DPP candidate has run for the position.

The Taitung County DPP Committee and Chuang said they support Chen’s campaign. In a press release on Wednesday, the committee said Chuang had worked hard in Taitung's communities over the past eight months.

Chuang said earlier this month that he supports Chen and she is well-suited to Taitung, where the DPP has previously found it difficult to achieve good results. He said Chen’s indigeneity makes her suited to represent Taitung’s many ethnic groups.

He said Chen's election would encourage all Indigenous people, and noted that her father, Chen Chien-nien (陳建年), was previously a Taitung magistrate. He said the DPP would launch policies targeting Taitung issues in the future.