Chang San-cheng unites pan-Blue forces to rebuild Taoyuan into a safe city

Seeking reelection, Taoyuan Mayor Chiang Shan-cheng held a joint rally in Taoyuan on the evening of October 17. The event drew mayoral candidates from the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung regions, as well as the parliamentary caucus leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). During the rally, Chiang emphasized a core theme of “continuing to build a safer and more livable city for Taoyuan,” adopting “unity” as the central slogan of the event. By appearing on stage together across party lines, the candidates aimed to send a signal of cooperation to voters.

Chiang has served as Taoyuan mayor since 2022. During his tenure, he has advanced multiple infrastructure and industrial upgrading projects, including the development of the Taoyuan Aviation City, the implementation of smart transportation systems, and the digitalization of public services. While these policies have earned praise from some voters, they have also sparked protests over land expropriation and environmental concerns. As the 2026 local elections approach, Chiang must maintain his existing support base while persuading swing voters to accept his governance record if he hopes to retain the mayoralty in a fiercely competitive race.

KMT mayoral candidates from the Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung regions who attended the event included Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen and New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi. Since leading Taichung in 2022, Lu has focused on urban renewal and public safety. Hou, known for his pragmatic image, has promoted social welfare and strengthened public security in New Taipei. Both candidates possess extensive political resources and voter bases in their respective regions. Their joint appearance with Chiang symbolizes coordination and unity within the KMT across central and northern Taiwan, with the intention of forming an integrated force in elections at all levels across the island.

The presence of the TPP caucus leader added a dimension of “KMT-TPP cooperation” to the rally. Since its founding, the TPP has not secured a large number of seats in the Legislative Yuan or local elections, but it maintains a certain level of appeal among young and swing voters. Its joint appearance with the KMT indicates a willingness to cooperate with the KMT at the local level to jointly counter the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nationwide political strategies and create complementary election tactics.

From an electoral strategy perspective, signals of KMT-TPP cooperation could have multiple impacts on the 2026 local elections. On one hand, the KMT may be able to re-integrate dispersed swing votes through an alliance with the TPP, thereby enhancing competitiveness in key counties and cities. On the other hand, conflicts over policy positions during the cooperation process could potentially weaken the core support bases of both parties. For Chiang, the KMT-TPP alliance is not only a tactical move to improve his reelection chances but also an experiment to test whether cross-party cooperation can be effectively implemented in local governance.

In summary, Chiang’s reelection rally is not merely a promotional event for an individual mayoral campaign, but also an interaction and probing of KMT-TPP political forces at the local level. The joint appearance of KMT mayoral candidates from the Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung regions and the TPP caucus leader reveals that Taiwan’s political landscape is seeking new models of integration. The direction of the elections over the coming months will test whether this cross-party cooperation can translate into actual votes and have a profound impact on Taiwan’s party system. (Source: Central News Agency)