KMT nominates candidates for New Taipei, Yilan, Chiayi City races

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Wednesday officially named former Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) as its candidate for New Taipei mayor, lawmaker Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) for the position of Yilan County magistrate, and physician Weng Shou-liang (翁壽良) as its candidate for Chiayi City mayor.

The nominations were approved at a meeting of the KMT's Central Standing Committee as part of the party's list of candidates for the Nov. 28 local elections.

KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said Lee's experience in infrastructure development during his tenure as Taipei deputy mayor makes him the party's best choice for New Taipei, adding that Taipei and New Taipei together could serve as a "locomotive" driving regional development.

Cheng described Wu, a former prosecutor, as a justice-minded legal professional, while noting that the KMT enjoys a strong foundation in Chiayi City under incumbent Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), who has begun helping unify the party behind Weng's campaign.

All the heads of government of New Taipei, Yilan and Chiayi City are currently KMT members, but they are barred from seeking reelection due to term limits.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) has nominated chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) as the party's candidate for New Taipei mayor, former lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷) for Chiayi City mayor, and former legislator Chen Wan-hui (陳琬惠) for Yilan County magistrate.

The KMT said it will negotiate with the TPP on a mechanism to coordinate and potentially field joint candidates.

The two parties are scheduled to present a joint policy platform on Saturday.

After outlining shared policy visions, the KMT and TPP will discuss a mechanism to select the strongest joint candidates in mayoral and county magistrate races, according to the two parties.