Huang Tzu-che Withdraws from Councilor Primary, KMT Taipei City Chapter to Nominate 2 Other Newcomers

TAIPEI, April 15 (CNA) – The Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Chapter plans to nominate 5 candidates in the Shilin-Beitou district. Originally, 3 newcomers were competing for 2 seats. Following Huang Tzu-che's withdrawal from the city councilor primary election, City Chapter Chairman Tai Hsi-chin said today that the primary poll would be suspended, and the other 2 newcomers would be nominated, as the number of nominations now matches the number of candidates in this constituency.

The KMT Taipei City Chapter plans to nominate 33 city councilors for the 2026 Taipei City Council elections. In the Shilin-Beitou (1st constituency) district, there were 4 incumbent councilors and newcomers Lai Yi-jen, Lin Yang-ting, and Huang Tzu-che who registered.

The Taipei City Chapter intended to nominate 5 seats in the Shilin-Beitou district. Due to the involvement of KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Chung-wen in a case, he might not be nominated, leaving 3 newcomers to compete for 2 seats through a primary poll. However, with Huang Tzu-che announcing his withdrawal from the Taipei City Councilor primary election on Facebook yesterday, the newcomers in this constituency will no longer need to undergo a primary poll.

Tai Hsi-chin, Chairman of the KMT Taipei City Chapter and Speaker of the Taipei City Council, said in a joint interview today that the City Chapter had received notification from Huang Tzu-che citing personal and family reasons for withdrawing from this primary election, and respected Huang Tzu-che's decision.

Tai Hsi-chin said that according to KMT regulations, if Huang Tzu-che withdraws, since the number of nominated seats in the Shilin-Beitou district now matches the number of registered candidates, the originally coordinated primary poll will be suspended, and the other 2 registered newcomers will be nominated based on this.

Regarding Chen Chung-wen's candidacy, Tai Hsi-chin said that although Chen Chung-wen had registered, he has been sentenced in the first instance for a judicial case, and Chen Chung-wen should understand that this would be a reason for disqualification during the primary review. As for whether to run, he respects Chen Chung-wen's decision.

When asked if the registered candidates might be subject to an approval system, Tai Hsi-chin said that the nomination quotas for city councilors in each Taipei City constituency were proposed after careful evaluation of each constituency's situation by the Taipei City Chapter and relevant members, such as 3 plus 2 seats in the Shilin-Beitou district.

He said that the nomination of councilor candidates considers the KMT's strength and the Taiwan People's Party's nomination of 1 candidate in each Taipei City constituency, among other factors. To maximize the number of seats in each constituency and to ensure that the blue camp can achieve an independent majority in the council, within the framework of KMT-TPP cooperation, it is hoped that candidates from both parties can be successfully elected. Therefore, the scope for approval in each Taipei City constituency for the blue camp should be limited. (Editor: Li Hsi-chang) 1150415