Taipei: Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) convened their weekly Central Standing Committee meetings in Taichung and Hsinchu County, respectively, as they aim to galvanize support for their candidates ahead of November's local elections.
According to Focus Taiwan, with the elections approaching in less than four months, the DPP held its traveling Central Standing Committee meeting in Taichung, a special municipality currently led by two-term KMT Mayor Lu Shiow-yen since 2018. At the meeting, Legislator Ho Hsin-chun, the DPP's candidate for Taichung mayor, unveiled her campaign platform, which emphasizes an integrated public transit network, subsidies for childcare and seniors, and the growth of the unmanned vehicle industry.
During the meeting, President and DPP Chairman Lai Ching-te criticized Mayor Lu's administration for delays in the Taichung MRT Blue Line project. Lai pointed out that the central government had approved the project before Lu took over from Lin Chia-lung, the former Taichung mayor and now foreign minister. He blamed Lu's administration's "repeated route changes" for escalating the project's budget without any construction progress. Lai also referred to an African swine fever incident in Taichung last October as another example of governance issues under Lu's leadership.
Mayor Lu responded to the criticisms during the opening ceremony of the Shuinan transit center. She urged President Lai to focus more on food safety amid ongoing concerns about cooking oil contaminated with benzo[a]pyrene. Lu noted that Lai had not publicly addressed food safety issues since July 6, suggesting that it made him appear "indifferent to people's livelihoods."
In a separate event, KMT Chairperson Cheng Li-wun led the party's senior leadership at their Central Standing Committee meeting in Hsinchu County, followed by a campaign rally attended by local party figures and approximately 400 supporters. The absence of incumbent Deputy Magistrate Chen Chien-hsien raised concerns within the party about unresolved tensions from its March primary, where KMT lawmaker Hsu Hsin-ying defeated Chen to secure the party's nomination for county magistrate. Hsu emphasized that unity within the party would be key for the KMT to maintain control of the county government, which it has held since 2001.