Executive Yuan Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday registered as a candidate in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson election after being nominated by a group of “middle generation” party members.
The group, led by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), on Thursday put forward Cho’s name, saying that they would accompany him yesterday afternoon to register as a candidate at the DPP’s headquarters in Taipei.
Cho would be competing with former DPP secretary-general Michael You (游盈隆) and former Kaohsiung County deputy commissioner Kuo Tai-ling (郭泰麟) for leadership of the party.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The group that nominated Cho includes Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), Chiayi County commissioner-elect Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁), former legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), outgoing Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Tainan mayor-elect Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) and Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安).
Cho completed the registration accompanied by some members of the group.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Cho said that the question facing the DPP is not what kind of chairperson it needs, but what kind of ruling party the nation needs.
A dominant party has emerged in Taiwan — it is known as the “Hate the Democratic Progressive Party Party,” Cho said.
He vowed to visit the party’s “haters” and “have a talk” with them about the DPP’s problems, saying that he would show them the party is undergoing changes and would convince them it was true.
Cho said that if elected, he would lead the DPP to become a more honest, pragmatic and down-to-earth party with a mission to serve the public, adding that he would also strive to promote unity within the party.
“The DPP has a promise to Taiwanese to fulfill. Put simply, we must introduce the right policies to give people better lives,” Cho said.
He had told Premier William Lai (賴清德) about his bid for DPP chairman, Cho said, adding that he would focus on the new role if elected and would not double as Executive Yuan secretary-general.
Asked what motivated him to run, Cho turned to look at Cheng and other supporters who were standing behind him and said: “Look at their determined faces. How could I refuse?”
Cho, who has served in several government posts and was a legislator from 1999 to 2004, is seen as a “big brother” of the younger generation, Cheng said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Nov. 24 resigned as the party’s leader after the DPP suffered heavy losses in the nine-in-one elections.
Since then, there have been calls from within the party for younger leadership.
In the local elections, the DPP won only six of the nation’s 22 mayoral and commissioner seats, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took 15.
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