TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Last-minute support from DPP Tainan mayoral hopeful Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) may have tipped the balance in favor of Tainan City Council Deputy Speaker Lin Chih-chan (林志展) in the DPP Tainan branch chair election Sunday.
The leadership race became an internal battle within President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) New Tide faction between Lin Chih-chan and incumbent branch chair Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文). Kuo ultimately lost by 38 votes, partly because about 100 of his supporters were unable to vote after failing to complete party membership fee payments, per NOWNews.
Members of Kuo’s camp said Lin Chih-chan’s campaign had projected a victory margin of as much as two-to-one, but ultimately secured only a narrow win with late support from Chen, per Liberty Times. One key factor in Lin Chih-chan’s victory was his performance in Annan District, Chen’s political base, where he defeated Kuo by more than 500 votes.
According to reports, Lai allowed Lin Chih-chan and Kuo to compete for the branch leadership during a closed-door meeting in early May, while signaling that future support for Tainan City Council speaker should go to a candidate backed by Legislator Lin Chun-hsien’s (林俊憲) faction. Lin Chun-hsien previously lost to Chen in a contentious DPP mayoral primary.
Despite Lai’s public neutrality, the New Tide faction reportedly continued to support Kuo behind the scenes, helping reduce what Lin Chih-chan’s camp initially expected would be a much larger margin of victory.
UP Media reported that the factional conflict stemmed from three major factors: Kuo’s perceived failure to remain neutral during the mayoral primary, faction leaders’ inability to ease internal tensions, and Lai’s failure to maintain neutrality. The race also appeared to solidify an emerging alliance between Chen and Lin Chih-chan.
Local political observers said Lin Chih-chan’s reliance on Chen’s support could require him to return the favor in future city council speaker races or a possible by-election for Chen’s legislative seat. They added that divisions within the local DPP could complicate future speaker elections, as the party would still need support from DPP-leaning and nonaligned councilors to secure the position.
