Taiwan's parties ramp up campaigning ahead of Nov. 28 local elections

Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) Taiwan's two major political parties and their mayoral candidates on Wednesday stepped up preparations for the Nov. 28 local elections, announcing campaign rallies and policy proposals while negotiations continued over a televised debate in Taipei.

Incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Kuomintang (KMT) said at an event in the capital that broadcasters TVBS and SET TV would hold a second round of talks on Thursday with his campaign team and that of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challenger Puma Shen (沈伯洋) to discuss arrangements for the debate.

The two sides have agreed to include cross-questioning in the debate, but have yet to decide on a date.

Chiang urged Shen to send representatives authorized to make decisions to a meeting and expressed hope that all details could be finalized during the second round of talks.

Speaking to reporters before a radio interview, Shen said the timing of the meeting would depend on coordination between the two campaigns and reiterated his hope that the debate could take place as soon as possible.

In central Taiwan, the KMT's Taichung mayoral candidate Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) unveiled a proposal to turn the city into a robotics manufacturing hub, citing its strong manufacturing base. He also pledged to establish a smart manufacturing park and cultivate talent through education.

His DPP rival Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純), meanwhile, announced plans for a campaign rally on Sunday with four DPP city councilors and a council candidate, where campaign ribbons will be distributed to supporters.

Separately, KMT Chairperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) announced a series of large-scale rallies, beginning on Saturday in central Taiwan, with further events planned across the country. Each event is expected to draw around 20,000 supporters.

The DPP, meanwhile, urged caution over opinion polls and campaign crowd sizes. Spokesperson Wu Cheng (吳崢) said party leaders had stressed that neither necessarily translated into electoral victories.

Taiwan's 2026 local elections are also known as the "9-in-1" elections because voters in Taiwan's 22 cities and counties will cast ballots for candidates vying for nine different local government posts, including city mayors, county magistrates, and city and county councilors.

Also up for grabs are seats for township chiefs and chiefs of indigenous tribes' districts in municipalities, township councilors and indigenous councilors in municipalities, as well as ward chiefs.

In total, the elections will be held to fill 11,051 elected posts at all levels of local government.