TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Twenty-six candidates with mainland Chinese spouse status have registered to run in Taiwan's November nine-in-one local elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC, 中央選舉委員會) announced Monday (Sept. 7), a modest increase of seven from 2022 that the chairman characterized as "natural fluctuation."
CEC Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) told reporters the 26 candidates are distributed across multiple levels of government. Nineteen are running for village or borough chief (村里長). The remaining seven include two municipal councilors (直轄市議員), two county or city councilors (縣市議員), one township mayor (鄉鎮市長), and two township representatives (鄉鎮市民代表).
The sole township mayor candidate is Li Chen-hsiu (李貞秀), a former Taiwan People's Party legislator seeking the mayorship of Zhubei City (竹北市) in Hsinchu County. You confirmed her identity, stating the township mayor position "looks like it's Li Chen-hsiu."
Li's candidacy will be reviewed by the Hsinchu County election commission rather than the CEC. The central commission only reviews candidates for municipal mayor, municipal councilor, county magistrate, and county councilor positions. "The standards used are the same standards," You said.
Taipei has the highest concentration with six mainland Chinese spouse candidates, You said. All other jurisdictions have three or fewer. The chairman described the distribution as "fairly dispersed" across Taiwan's 22 local jurisdictions.
"There's no indication of a surge or sharp decline," You said. "Every year, candidate registrations differ for various reasons."
The 26 are part of 19,695 total candidates registered for the November 28 elections, competing for 11,051 positions. The figure is down from 19,825 in 2022, a decrease of 130. You said candidate totals have hovered around 20,000 across four election cycles since 2014.
The CEC and local commissions will complete qualification reviews by Oct. 16. Ballot number drawings are scheduled for Oct. 23.
Reporters also asked about Chen Chu-ying (陳竹音), a stunt actress who announced in 2022 her intention to renounce Taiwan household registration and obtain Chinese citizenship. Chen has not received a Chinese identity card but is running for New Taipei City councilor under the Labor Party.
You declined to comment on Chen's case, stating that commissions "review candidate qualifications entirely in accordance with the law."
Li, who was born in Hunan, mainland China, served as a TPP legislator for approximately two months before the party revoked her membership in April. The party cited her comments about the bribery scandal involving party founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), including remarks that implied Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) had received bribes. With her party membership revoked, her tenure as an at-large legislator was terminated.
Li's eligibility to serve as a legislator had also been disputed. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) stated in February that her "identity conversion procedure" was not completed until March 2025. The process, renouncing mainland China household registration, should have been finished before she was nominated to the TPP's at-large legislator list in late 2023.
Li completed her registration for the Zhubei mayoral race on Aug. 31, paying the NT$100,000 (around US$3,156) registration fee in cash. She told reporters that some supporters were reluctant to publicly back her campaign, citing fears of "retaliation from TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌)."
"If the law has relevant provisions, then of course there may be issues," You said. "But if the law does not stipulate that such statements disqualify someone from running, then we can only handle it according to the law." ◼