Incumbent leads in 1st Taoyuan mayoral race

2014-10-24

Taoyuan County Magistrate Wu Chih-yang is on track to win the soon-to-be-upgraded region’s first mayoral election set for Nov. 29, according to a poll conducted by a local daily.

Wu, who represents the ruling Kuomintang, is up against Cheng Wen-tsan of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. The two went head-to-head in the magistrate election four years ago, with Wu coming out on top by less than 50,000 votes.

According to the poll conducted Oct. 15-18 by United Daily News, if the election was held tomorrow, Wu would win 48 percent of the vote versus Cheng’s 25 percent. Another 25 percent remained undecided or replied “did not know.” In terms of the final winner, Wu was picked by 66 percent and Cheng 8 percent, while 25 percent expressed “did not know.”

The poll, carried out using randomly selected phone numbers registered in Taoyuan County, has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error at plus or minus 3 percent.

Wu has won widespread support for seeking the upgrade of Taoyuan to special municipality status like Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Taipei cities. He has also been a prime driver of Taoyuan Aerotropolis, one of the government’s i-Taiwan 12 Projects.

Another undertaking promoted during his time in office is the metro line linking Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with Taipei Main Station. Set to open in 2015, it is expected to further enhance northern Taiwan’s credentials as a hub for business and tourism.

Cheng, a former minister of the defunct Government Information Office, has focused on environmental issues and social welfare. He plans to provide housing subsidies for young people and build 3,000 to 5,000 units of public housing. As Taoyuan boasts one of the largest industrial clusters in the nation, Cheng has pledged to strengthen inspections of factory wastewater and sewage.

With the campaign platforms of both candidates finalized, it is expected Wu will continue posting healthy poll numbers in the lead-up to election day.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=223172&CtNode=413)