Academia Sinica research fellow Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who had been considering a legislative bid on the New Power Party ticket, yesterday denied claims by New Taipei City Councilor Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that Huang would run for the legislative seat in that city’s Sijhih District (汐止).
“I have never said that I would join the [legislative] race,” Huang said on Facebook. “I will not seek to run in Sijhih and I will do my best to help opposition candidates — including Shen — to defeat [Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)] Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), so that there can be a good, local lawmaker representing the constituency.”
Huang posted the message in the afternoon after Shen said on Facebook that Huang was “finally going to make his splendid debut” in a legislative election.
Shen said that while he did not feel comfortable with the DPP’s decision not to include Sijhih in its list of constituencies to contest in next year’s legislative elections, he admired what Huang did during Sunflower movement last year and would support him if he decides to run.
“I still have two things to worry about,” Shen said. “First, are local DPP members feeling depressed about being abandoned by their party, and second, are voters upset over an ‘airborne’ candidate who does not know what people want?”
However, Shen said that he has been working hard in Sijhih for 18 years and hinted that Huang might not win the seat if he runs.
Shen called on the DPP’s Campaign Strategy Committee, as well as former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃)— who is in charge of the party’s campaign in New Taipei City — to be responsible if “the worst-case scenario” arises.
“Maybe everyone will be rejoicing over a victory for [DPP Chairperson] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), so it would not seem important whether we lose one or two seats in the legislature or win more than 50 percent of the seats,” Shen said. “If we have a regrettable result [in the legislative elections], you will be celebrating a rotation of power, while I will be facing bitter fruit on my own in the dark.”
However, DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said that the Central Executive Committee has decided not to nominate candidates in 11 constituencies, with Sijhih being one of them.
“We will continue to negotiate with the utmost sincerity with the third political force, and I believe our channels of communication with our party members remains smooth,” Wang said.
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