Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Pasuya Yao (姚文智) on Monday expressed hopes of working with DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on a joint campaign event to be held on Saturday next week.
Yao yesterday said that the two special municipalities have an inseparable relationship and that under his and Su’s leadership, the municipalities would support each other, adding that he was looking at the possibility of cooperating with Su in their campaigns.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊), Premier William Lai (賴清德) and other key party figures would make appearances during campaign events planned for Saturday next week, he said.
Cooperation with Su at the events would strengthen the party’s campaign efforts in the two places, Yao said, adding that there are already plans for the party’s mayoral and county commissioner candidates to campaign together on July 15, when the party is to hold its national congress.
It is important for the party to consolidate its efforts now, as it spent a long time discussing whether to back Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) for re-election, Yao said, adding that he on Monday met with two Su campaign supporters, DPP legislators Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), to discuss his hopes for cooperation at the event later this month.
Su Tseng-chang’s campaign team would need to deliberate before deciding whether the two nominees would work together at that event or meet at another date, he said, but added that regardless of what happens this month, the whole party would be out together in force on July 15.
Separately, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Sunday said he plans to meet with KMT New Taipei City mayoral candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) in August to discuss the common areas of their platforms.
Hou on Monday said there was room for cooperation between the two municipalities on issues related to transportation, environmental protection, public security and water management.
However, the two have yet to announce plans to campaign together.
Ho’s office director, Hsieh cheng-ta (謝政達), said that while the two municipalities form a shared metropolitan area, there would need to be a discussion before the two candidates hold a formal meeting to avoid wasting time.
So far, the two have no plans to meet in August, Hsieh said.
Ting said that while the two have yet to cooperate in their campaigns, they have collaborated in the past on other issues and have a great working relationship.
Additional reporting by Ho Yu-hua and Chiu Hsu-yu
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