Li Sichuan and Su Qiaohui battle early in New Taipei mayoral race over tourism and pets.

As the political situation in New Taipei City continues to heat up, there is still some time before the next mayoral election, but potential contenders on the political stage have already begun a preliminary showdown over policy proposals. Given New Taipei City's vast territory, massive population, and diverse urban and rural administrative characteristics, how to attract voters' attention and present a forward-looking urban development blueprint has become a top priority for all political camps. Recently, the widely watched Li Shih-chuan and Legislator Su Chiao-hui respectively proposed specific policy visions in different fields such as tourism industry upgrading and animal-friendly cities, which not only highlight their respective governance mainstays but also pre-emptively generate buzz for the future New Taipei City mayoral race.

Regarding tourism and local revitalization, Li Shih-chuan today put forward a tourism development platform covering five major highlights. The core concept lies in breaking the limitations of traditional tourism hubs and actively promoting specialty tourism across all twenty-nine administrative districts of New Taipei City. One of the most eye-catching highlights is the proposal to build a cable car system to access the mountain city. This initiative aims to alleviate traffic bottlenecks in specific mountainous scenic spots while providing tourists with a brand-new aerial perspective, thereby enhancing the sophistication and convenience of the tourism experience. New Taipei City boasts rich geographical landscapes combining mountains and the sea, with tourism resources ranging from the coastline to mountain settlements holding immense potential. However, it has long faced challenges in transportation connections and the linkage of scenic spots. The series of tourism highlights proposed by Li Shih-chuan attempts to comprehensively revitalize the local economy through the upgrading of hardware facilities combined with software marketing, allowing visitors not only to visit popular spots but also to delve deep into various administrative districts to discover local characteristics, demonstrating a macro-level ambition for regional tourism development.

On the other hand, Legislator Su Chiao-hui chose to start from the entry point of citizens' daily lives by officially establishing the "Pet Protection Industry Support Association" today and throwing out a policy vision to transform New Taipei City into an animal-friendly city. With declining birth rates and an increase in DINK (Double Income, No Kids) households, the status of pets in modern families is becoming increasingly important. Issues such as the pet industry, medical care, leisure, and rights protection have become high-concern lifestyle dimensions for many urban voters. Through the action of establishing a dedicated support association, Su Chiao-hui has not only rallied the strength of pet industry practitioners and pet owners but also systematically proposed a policy framework for an animal-friendly city. This vision encompasses the friendly transformation of public spaces, the enhancement of pet medical resources, and the guidance and development of related industries, attempting to create a warm urban atmosphere where humans and animals can thrive together, accurately grasping the important trends of modern metropolitan governance.

The fact that these two political figures rolled out policy proposals for tourism and animal protection on the very same day reflects that the New Taipei City mayoral race has gradually shifted from verbal sparring to substantive policy competition. As Taiwan's most populous municipality with a population of nearly four million, New Taipei City's administrative districts include urban areas, industrial powerhouses, agricultural zones, and tourist resorts, featuring a diverse voter structure and complex demands. Whether it is Li Shih-chuan's emphasis on regional tourism revitalization and landmark construction, or Su Chiao-hui's focus on animal-friendly cities and lifestyle details, both are responding to the deep-seated expectations of citizens for urban quality of life and economic vitality many years after New Taipei City was upgraded to a special municipality. The introduction of these policies not only tests the candidates' depth of understanding regarding local development but also provides different imaginations for New Taipei City's future urban transformation.

From a broader political and social significance perspective, this warm-up match in pre-election positioning is actually testing the acceptance of New Taipei citizens toward different governance styles. Li Shih-chuan has long experience in engineering and administrative systems, and his policy proposals often carry a strong implementation-oriented and construction-minded approach; meanwhile, Su Chiao-hui has cultivated grassroots communities for many years, excelling at combining public opinion demands with issue advocacy to demonstrate a soft care close to the citizens' daily lives. As the election campaign gradually heats up, more issues related to transportation, social welfare, industry, and urban renewal are expected to be brought to the table in the future. The early clash between the two in the fields of tourism and animal protection has already opened the curtain for the next stage of urban development debate in New Taipei City, allowing voters to more deeply examine the governance philosophy and execution capability of each potential candidate before casting their formal votes.