Cheng Li-wun Makes Low-Key Visit to Changhua as KMT Fails to Unify Behind County Magistrate Candidate
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun paid a low-key visit to Changhua to court local factions, but Changhua County Magistrate Wang Huei-mei has still not fallen into line, showing that the party's efforts to unify its ranks for this magisterial race remain stalled.
- Cheng travelled to Changhua under the guise of "taking a break," visiting Lukang Longshan Temple and calling on local figures, granting no interviews and keeping her itinerary private throughout.
- Magistrate candidate Wei Ping-cheng is due to register on the 3rd, but Wang Huei-mei only returned from Italy on the 2nd, and there has been no word on whether she will accompany him to register.
- Wang has so far been unwilling to appear alongside Cheng Li-wun or Wei Ping-cheng, and this is precisely where the party's unification effort has broken down.
- The pan-blue camp, meanwhile, is growing more disorderly: councillor Chen Chung-chia has switched to running for magistrate, and county government adviser Ko Cheng-fang may also join the race.
- Changhua County party chapter chairman Hsiao Ching-tien has said he will not look for a second candidate, and will wait for Wang Huei-mei all the way through to the establishment of the campaign headquarters on the 6th.
Outlook: If Wang Huei-mei still fails to appear on the 3rd, the KMT's split will become even harder to contain, and the Changhua race will continue to drag on.