TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Mai Yu-cheng (麥玉珍) on Tuesday defended her intention to seek the party’s nomination for Taichung mayor, saying she is “standing up for Taichung and for the TPP.”
Mai announced Saturday that she would run for mayor if given the opportunity, prompting mixed reactions across the party, per TVBS. TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said he had not heard of Mai’s interest before and that the party would evaluate her proposal carefully, per CNA. TPP Taichung Branch Chair Chen Ching-lung (陳清龍) said he had already informed party headquarters the branch currently has no suitable mayoral candidate, per UDN.
Taichung City Councilor Chiang Ho-shu (江和樹) criticized Mai’s announcement, arguing she should have built a stronger local support network and declared her intentions before Chen submitted his report, per Newtalk. Chiang said the party may need to field a heavyweight, such as Huang or former TPP Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), to be competitive in Taichung.
Mai pushed back, asserting she is fully qualified to run, per ETtoday. Kuomintang Legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) responded by saying the opposition camp will field the strongest candidate it has, per ETtoday.
On the KMT side, a primary contest is taking shape between KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Chiang Chi-chen (江啟臣). The eventual nominee is expected to face Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純).
Several KMT Taichung city councilors have already endorsed Chiang, with some urging the party to cancel the primary to avoid harming his prospects, per Liberty Times. Chiang’s office expressed gratitude, while Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Yang have refrained from commenting.
In 2018, Lu narrowly defeated Chiang in the primary before going on to win the mayoralty, with Chiang later rallying behind her. Although Lu has not publicly endorsed Chiang this cycle, her remarks during a failed recall attempt targeting both Chiang and Yang suggest she may lean toward him, per TVBS.
During the campaign, Lu warned that Taichung risked losing its next mayor if Chiang were removed. When defending Yang, Lu highlighted her abilities and character but did not mention her prospects as a future mayor.
A recent CNews poll shows Chiang leading Ho by 18 points. Analysts note that TPP supporters make up 17.3% of Taichung’s electorate and lean strongly toward Chiang, making an opposition coalition highly favorable for his path to victory, per UP Media.
The CNews poll was conducted Nov. 25–26 among 1,208 respondents, 848 by landline and 360 by cellphone, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.82 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
