By Eryk Michael Smith/Staff
KAOHSIUNG — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) has secured victory in the party’s Tainan mayoral primary. If elected, Chen would become Tainan’s first female mayor in the city’s 400-year history.
Kaohsiung mayoral hopeful Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) — who had actively campaigned for her opponent — offered his congratulations to Chen and called for deeper cooperation across southern Taiwan to drive regional development.
Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) secured her party’s nomination after winning a closely watched internal primary, party officials confirmed Thursday.
Results released Jan. 15 showed Chen narrowly defeated fellow legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) by 2.69 percentage points, earning 60.85 percent of the vote to Lin’s 58.16 percent. Both candidates significantly outperformed their projected Kuomintang (KMT) rival, Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), in head-to-head polling.
In simulated matchups, Chen led Hsieh 60.85 percent to 13.86 percent, while Lin held a 58.16 percent to 21.64 percent advantage over the KMT lawmaker.
Lai had praise for the person who lost to Chen, fellow DPP legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), and thanked him for his long-standing contributions to Tainan. Lai said party primaries are a core democratic mechanism, but stressed that unity is essential once results are finalized.
He added that southern Taiwan’s development challenges extend beyond city borders, emphasizing the need for closer collaboration among Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung. Lai said that future cooperation could focus on transport links, industrial supply chains, flood control, disaster prevention, and broader regional governance.
“The future of the south depends on coordinated planning and shared resources,” Lai said. “Only through stronger partnerships can we push forward sustainable growth for the entire region.” -Lai Jui-lung
