With 30 days left until the nine-in-one election, Vice President Hsiao Meiqin announced today (29th) that she will serve as the co-honorary chairperson of Yilan mayoral candidate Han Ying, Miaoli mayoral candidate Lin Yueqin, Nantou mayoral candidate Shen Suzheng, Douliu mayoral candidate Yin Lingying, CPIC mayoral candidate Lu Huiyu, Pingtung mayoral candidate Liang Yuci, and Taitung mayoral candidate Weng Shenghui, recommending the "Seven Good Mayors" to voters.
The seven female candidates challenging difficult constituencies also jointly proposed four urban initiatives, hoping to promote pressure reduction in the six cities, return of youth to their hometowns, and balanced regional development based on local governance.
The Democratic Progressive Party's main theme in this year's election campaign is "the new generation will carry the new era", and it is deeply involved in planning based on this concept. Xiao Meiqin wrote on Facebook in the evening that a group of outstanding women stood up in this year’s local elections to do more for their hometowns. They have different majors and experiences, but what they have in common is that they are deeply involved in the field, understand the needs of the villagers, contribute their expertise, take responsibility, and turn ideas into actions step by step.
Accordingly, Xiao Meiqin announced that she served as the co-honorary chairperson of seven candidates and recommended the "Seven Good Mayors" to voters, including Han Ying of Yilan City, Lin Yueqin of Miaoli City, Shen Suzheng of Nantou City, Yin Lingying of Douliu City, Lu Huiyu of Taibao City, Liang Yuci of Pingtung City, and Weng Shenghui of Taitung City. She emphasized, "I believe that women's participation in public affairs can bring more diverse perspectives, and can also make local governance more careful and empathetic." She called on voters to support female leadership on November 28 and give outstanding women who are willing to work hard for their hometown a chance.
The seven candidates jointly stated that there are 14 counties and cities in Taiwan, and the DPP nominated female candidates in 7 of them this time, accounting for exactly half, and all 7 cities are the seat of the county government of each county. They come from different generations and professional backgrounds, covering areas such as congressional and central policy work, local councils, children's rights, social welfare, ecological conservation and grassroots services. This time they stand together to challenge difficult local constituencies, hoping to bring changes to their hometowns.
"Local areas should not just wait for changes, and women should not just be supporting actors on the political stage!" Seven people emphasized that county cities are not only the seat of the county government, but also the engine that drives the development of the entire county. They also took Zhubei City as an example, believing that as long as they have a good municipal vision and an active administrative team, county-level cities can also create outstanding governance achievements.
In terms of common political views, the seven people proposed four urban initiatives of "Seven Good Mayors and Women Powered by Women", including "Good Jobs" to create high-quality employment and industrial development opportunities; "Good Life" to improve transportation, housing, parks and public services; "Good Growth" to improve childcare, education and social safety nets; and "Good Future" to govern the city in a more humanistic and sustainable way to prepare for the next generation.
Seven people pointed out that young people currently leave their hometowns for work and face high housing prices, traffic congestion and heavy living burdens when they go to big cities. Their hometowns are faced with problems such as an aging population and a lack of workers in industries due to the exodus of young people. One of the best ways to reduce stress in the six capitals is to make cities outside the six capitals develop better, so that young people do not have to leave their hometowns for work, so that people who want to go home have the conditions to do so, and more families have the opportunity to choose a city that suits them, live and work in peace and contentment, and take care of their families nearby.
