TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kuomintang (KMT) on Wednesday (May 18) named former vice-presidential candidate and ex-Premier Simon Chang (張善政) as its candidate for mayor of Taoyuan City.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has not yet nominated a candidate to succeed popular incumbent Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is sometimes mentioned as a potential candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Chang, 67, served as premier from February to May 2016 and was the running mate of then-Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the 2020 presidential election, which they lost with 38.6% of the vote.

The selection of Chang to run in the Nov. 26 election in Taoyuan was unexpected, as several lawmakers and former Taipei City Councilor Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) had already clearly expressed their interest in running, CNA reported.

KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who served as Taoyuan County chief for eight years, praised Chang for his international vision acquired during his studies at Stanford and Cornell and during his work at tech firms such as Google and Acer. He also emphasized Taoyuan’s role as the location of numerous high-tech factories and home to the country’s main gateway to the rest of the world, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.