Browsing: Mayoral race 2026

Kuomintang Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en stated a weekend temple rally with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu gave her campaign a “major shot in the arm” ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.

Lai Jui-lung and Ko Chih-en will face each other in a televised mayoral debate on Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. The format includes policy presentations, media questions and cross-examination.

Tsai Ing-wen and Hsiao Bi-khim are scheduled to join Lai Jui-lung’s Oct. 17 campaign rally near Fongshan West MRT station. Frank Hsieh and Mayor Chen Chi-mai are also on the announced guest list.

An election controversy erupted on Sunday, Oct. 11, after a roadside billboard listed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) incumbent officeholders and candidates as endorsing Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) mayoral nominee Ko Chih-en (柯志恩).

Ko Chih-en and Lai Jui-lung have agreed to a televised Kaohsiung mayoral debate jointly hosted by three broadcasters. Its date and format remain undecided.

Ko Chih-en must take the initiative to break the deadlock in Kaohsiung’s mayoral race, writes Shen Nai-hsun. He argues that the KMT candidate cannot rely on her party’s fortunes elsewhere to improve her prospects in the south.

Kaohsiung councilor Lin Chih-hung has urged mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en to support timely budget passage as the government outlines conditional dates for NT$10,000 cash payments in early 2027.

Party Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) has not demonstrated an ability to revive the party, and her influence over the local elections has been minimal. The three prominent figures once described as the “Bald Man, Tough Man and Swallow,” referring to Han Kuo-yu, Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), have also failed to demonstrate the ability to guide the election nationwide. The KMT now faces a serious shortage of political stars

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an and DPP Taipei candidate Shen Po-yang traveled to Kaohsiung on the same day, helping their parties turn the city’s mayoral race into a contest with national visibility.

KMT mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en has proposed an outdoor music festival at Tianliao Moon World, although details including its scale, cost and transportation arrangements have not been developed.