Bipartisan Cross-Party Alliance Pushes Chang Chi-Kai, Opening New Chapter in Chiayi Mayoral Race

The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) officially established the campaign headquarters for Chang Chi-kai in Chiayi City today. The event was attended not only by TPP founding chairman Ko Wen-je, but also by Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu, who came to show his support. The leaders of the two parties appeared together to endorse Chang's mayoral candidacy, symbolizing the concrete realization of cross-party cooperation. Chang is a former legislator who previously held key positions within the KMT before joining the TPP in recent years, becoming a prominent figure for the party in central Taiwan. This headquarters establishment ceremony is not only the starting point for an individual campaign, but also the practical implementation of the two parties jointly endorsing the same candidate through a "mechanism" for the first time in a local election.

Behind this cross-party joint endorsement reflects the adjustments in electoral strategies made by Taiwan's political parties in recent years. Since the 2022 local elections, the KMT's competitiveness has continued to suffer setbacks in the majority of counties and cities, with growing internal calls emphasizing the need to cooperate with other forces to improve winning odds. Meanwhile, within just a few years of its establishment, the TPP has secured a significant number of seats in the Legislative Yuan and is actively expanding into local regions. In his speech, Ko Wen-je pointed out that through institutionalized consultation mechanisms, the two parties have designated Chang Chi-kai as the sole candidate, representing "an important milestone in political history" and demonstrating that traditional pan-Blue and pan-Green confrontation is gradually being replaced by functional cooperation on the local political stage.

As an important city in western Taiwan, the Chiayi City mayoral election has always been a focal point of contention between pan-Blue and pan-Green forces. In past elections, candidates from the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took turns holding office, while the TPP mostly participated as a third force without achieving a decisive breakthrough. Chang's candidacy is viewed as a key step in the TPP's deployment in Chiayi. If he can secure the full support of the KMT, it is expected to form a voter base combining pan-Blue and pan-Green elements, posing a challenge to the ruling DPP's advantage. On the other hand, if the KMT concentrates its resources on assisting Chang, it may reduce investments in other county and city races, requiring an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the overall campaign.

This move has also sparked enthusiastic discussion among scholars and political commentators. Some observers believe that the success or failure of cross-party cooperation lies in whether a consensus can be formed on policy issues, avoiding the arrangement from merely becoming a tool for vote-trading. In his campaign manifesto, Chang emphasized that he will center his campaign on "urban governance, industrial upgrading, and youth employment," and pledged to combine the TPP's innovative governance concepts with the KMT's traditional grassroots organizational strength to build a concrete governance blueprint. If such a "policy alliance" can be concretely manifested in the election, it will create a demonstration effect for a new model in Taiwan's local politics.

Finally, Ko Wen-je stated at the conclusion of the ceremony that the cooperation between the two parties is not only support for Chang Chi-kai as an individual, but also a practice of "pluralistic politics." If similar mechanisms can be extended to other counties and cities in the future, it may rewrite Taiwan's political ecology, reduce the long-standing pan-Blue and pan-Green confrontation, and promote healthy competition in public policy. Regardless of the outcome, this cross-party joint endorsement experiment has become one of the most watched focal points of this local election, and its subsequent development and impact warrant continued observation.