Chiang Chi-chen pushes for Taichung airport T3 amid Songshan relocation debate

As the 2026 Taichung mayoral race gradually heats up, potential candidates from various political parties have officially launched their offensive and defensive maneuvers regarding local development and major public infrastructure. On the 8th, Kuomintang Legislator and Taichung mayoral hopeful Chiang Chi-chen put forward a clear demand regarding the development of Taichung International Airport. Echoing the recently discussed proposal to relocate Songshan Airport, he strongly called on the central government to accelerate the planning and construction progress of the Third Terminal at Taichung International Airport. This advocacy not only touches upon the long-awaited gateway upgrade issue in central Taiwan, but also once again pushes Taichung's positioning in national transportation and territorial planning to the forefront, sparking widespread discussion in local political circles and a reassessment of future air cargo and passenger capacities.

The backdrop of Chiang's remarks stems from the recent resurgence of domestic discussions regarding whether the capital region's Songshan Airport should be relocated. He believes that if the development bottlenecks of the Taipei metropolitan area are to be relieved in the long run and regional development balanced, Taichung International Airport in the central region definitely has the potential—and must—play a more significant role. However, examining the current state of Taichung International Airport, although terminal renovations and partial facility expansions have been carried out in the past, it has long faced a dilemma of saturation and inadequacy in terms of international passenger capacity, apron configuration, and passenger customs clearance efficiency. While the construction project for the Third Terminal has been brewing locally for many years, local public opinion has consistently felt that the actual progress and the central government's blueprint planning are moving at a snail's pace. Chiang's public call is intended to highlight whether the current city government and the central authority have exerted sufficient strength in striving for major infrastructure, thereby demonstrating to the residents of central Taiwan his determination and ambition to promote transportation modernization.

On the other hand, Legislator Ho Hsin-chun, viewed as a leading contender within the Democratic Progressive Party for the next Taichung mayor, chose to cut into another core pain point of urban governance on the same day—traffic congestion and smart management—to propose her solutions. Ho emphasized that the scale of Taichung's metropolitan area has expanded rapidly in recent years, and the demographic dividend has driven massive commuting demand while also giving rise to severe traffic congestion and parking difficulties. In response, she advocates that future transportation governance in Taichung should comprehensively introduce artificial intelligence and big data analysis to construct a well-rounded AI smart traffic control system. Through real-time traffic flow monitoring, dynamic signal adjustments, and public transportation big data optimization, overall commuting efficiency can be enhanced from a software perspective, creating a more convenient and low-carbon travel environment for citizens.

Ho's proposal for an AI-powered smart transportation concept reflects the current global trend in smart city governance. As Taiwan's second-most populous municipality, Taichung has an intricate transportation network, and traditional signal control and manual inspections can no longer cope with massive traffic volumes during peak hours. Introducing AI technology can not only effectively relieve traffic pressure on major thoroughfares, but also proactively deploy diversion plans through predictive data analytics. This policy proposal not only possesses a high degree of practical operability, but also successfully carves out a professional image of "technological governance" within the campaign issues, forming a complement to traditional hardware construction appeals and demonstrating a well-rounded capacity for campaign discourse.

From a macroscopic political and local development perspective, these two representative figures from the blue and green camps respectively put forward heavy-weight policy proposals regarding airport hardware construction and transportation software optimization on the same day. This highlights that the core axis of the upcoming Taichung mayoral election will inevitably revolve around "urban competitiveness" and "infrastructure upgrading." Chiang focuses on the internationalization and regional balance of external gateways, hoping to give birth to the Third Terminal so that Taichung International Airport can truly attain the scale of a central Taiwan gateway; Ho focuses on internal living convenience and sustainable development, hoping to solve citizens' daily commuting pain points through AI smart transportation. These two major directions not only test the coordination capabilities between the central and local governments, but will also become important indicators for voters to evaluate candidates for the next mayoral seat. As the election process advances, how to translate these macroscopic visions into concrete and feasible policy white papers will be a crucial test that all candidates must face next.