Li Si-chuan Attends Xizhi and Wanli Supporter Rallies with Focus on Transport Infrastructure; Su Chiao-hui Highlights Social Housing and Labour Policy
The two leading candidates in the New Taipei City mayoral race each made their moves on the same day, with Li Si-chuan emphasising transport infrastructure and Su Chiao-hui focusing on housing and labour rights, giving voters concerned about New Taipei's development a chance to compare substantive policy platforms.
- Kuomintang candidate Li Si-chuan attended the inaugural meeting of the Xizhi supporters' association, with nearly a thousand people present and more than 30 borough chiefs appearing in support.
- Li pledged to speed up the connection of the Xizhi-Donghu line to the eastern section of the Circular Line, and said he would work with Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an to ease traffic congestion on routes out of Xizhi.
- In Wanli, he said he would upgrade fishing port facilities and promote local seafood such as Wanli crab, and would look into reviving plans for the Wanli-Shuangxi tunnel.
- Democratic Progressive Party candidate Su Chiao-hui pledged to maintain the target of 52,000 social housing units, to be built through multiple channels including urban renewal, transit-oriented development and joint development around MRT stations.
- Su also proposed matching companies to set up childcare facilities in groups, subsidising businesses' losses over the first three years of operating childcare, and establishing a city-government-level "New Taipei Labour Policy Council" to coordinate across departments.
Outlook: The main thrusts of the two candidates' platforms have taken shape — transport infrastructure against housing and labour issues — and the campaign is expected to continue contesting these two lines.