Taitung County Magistrate's Sister Nominated for County Councilor, Drawing Local Political Attention

(Central News Agency reporter Lu Tai-cheng, Taitung County, 10th) Ahead of the year-end local elections in Taitung County, the local Kuomintang (KMT) party branch announced its list of nominated candidates today. Among them, the nominated county councilor candidate, Rao Ching-yu, the younger sister of Taitung County Magistrate Rao Ching-ling, is considered by some to have the credentials to potentially challenge for the positions of deputy speaker or speaker, drawing significant attention in local political circles.

The KMT Taitung County Party Branch today announced the party's internal nominations and approved list for the 2026 Taitung County Councilor and Township/Mayoral elections. For the county councilor section, 19 candidates were nominated and 9 were approved across 13 electoral districts. For the township/mayoral section, 11 candidates were nominated and 2 were approved across 11 townships/cities.

In the 1st electoral district for county councilors, the nominees are Chou Ta-san, Chang Kuo-chou, Wu Ching-huai, Wang Chun-mei, Fu Wen-peng, Rao Ching-yu, and Li Che. In the 2nd district, Yang Chao-hsin was nominated. In the 3rd district, Lin Tung-man was nominated, and Cheng Ming-hsien was approved. In the 5th district, Weng Li-yin was nominated, and Liao Shuang-ying was approved. In the 6th district, Hsieh Hsien-yu was nominated, and Wang Yi-kai was approved. In the 7th district, Lin Tsung-han and Fang Hsien-jen were nominated, and Yang Sheng-hung and Yang Chi-liang were approved.

In the 8th district, Cheng Kang-shan was nominated. In the 9th district, Yu Chung-cheng was nominated, and Lo Chun-ming was approved. In the 11th district, Yang Chiu-chen was nominated. In the 12th district, Chiu Wen-chun was nominated. In the 13th district, Hu Chin-chih was nominated. In the 14th district, Chang Cheng-hui was nominated, and Chiang Cheng-kuang was approved. In the 15th district, Pao Hui-ling and Lin Fang-ju were approved.

For the township/mayoral section, Chen Ming-feng was nominated for Taitung City; Kuo Tsung-yi for Beinan Township; Kao Chin-shu for Jinfeng Township, with Lu Chao-chiang approved; Tsai Yu-ling for Daren Township, with Lu Mei-hui approved; Yu Kuang-hsiung for Yanping Township; Peng Cheng-feng for Guanshan Township; Chang Chuan-hsin-lan for Haiduan Township; Yeh Chi-wei for Donghe Township; Hsieh Shu-chen for Chenggong Township; Li Kuang-lan for Changbin Township; and Wang Ni-li for Lyudao Township.

Rao Ching-yu is the younger sister of the incumbent County Magistrate, Rao Ching-ling. She previously served as the Secretary-General of the New Taipei City Government. Leaving the team of New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih, she returned to her hometown to run for office, aiming to continue the Rao family's political legacy in Taitung. Some political figures believe that given her background, "she won't just be an ordinary county councilor; she should be able to challenge for the deputy speaker or speaker position," which is why she has garnered significant political attention.

Deputy Speaker Lin Tsung-han suffered a brain injury from a horse-riding accident in China in June 2024. He had not participated in official duties since the injury, leading to public speculation about whether he would seek re-election. However, he registered for the KMT nomination this April, and on Mother's Day in May, he posted official photos on social media, announcing that he was "starting to adapt to high-intensity work," signaling his campaign for re-election. His candidacy is also expected to influence the KMT's strategy for the next speaker and deputy speaker positions.

Wu Hsiu-hua, Chairperson of the KMT Taitung County Party Branch, stated that the next phase involves the nomination process for township/city representatives and village/borough chiefs. According to central party regulations, this process should be completed by the end of June. At that time, it will be integrated with the county magistrate election to launch a comprehensive campaign mobilization effort to help nominated and approved KMT members achieve victory.

As the KMT's lineup of candidates for the Taitung local elections gradually takes shape, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also announced today that it will recruit Weng Sheng-hui, the Executive Director of the DPP Taitung County Party Branch, to run for Taitung City Mayor. The DPP Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung will personally travel to Taitung on the 13th to preside over the recruitment briefing. (Editor: Huang Ming-hsi) 1150610