DPP Tainan mayoral candidate Chen Ting-fei is seeking to make history by becoming the first woman to lead Taiwan’s southern city, while presenting a policy agenda focused on welfare, agriculture, infrastructure and industrial development.
Chen, a longtime Tainan politician, has emphasized her grassroots political experience as she prepares for the 2026 local elections. Her political career began in city politics in 1998, when she won a Tainan City Council seat. She later defeated KMT rival Hsieh Lung-chieh in several elections, according to reports cited by Taiwan News.
After previously losing the DPP mayoral primary, Chen returned for another nomination contest and defeated fellow lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien, attributing the result to years of grassroots work and public service.
Seven priorities for Tainan
Chen has outlined seven major areas for her proposed administration, including reducing the development gap between northern and southern Tainan, strengthening agricultural infrastructure, expanding social welfare and improving road and rail networks.
She has also proposed better refrigeration facilities and stronger domestic and export marketing networks for farmers and fishers, along with a system for reporting damage caused by natural disasters.
On welfare, Chen said she would compare Tainan’s benefits with those offered by Taiwan’s other five special municipalities and seek improvements if the city falls behind. She said her approach would focus on addressing existing shortcomings rather than making promises that could be difficult to fulfill.
Agriculture, semiconductors and medical technology
Chen’s economic vision centers on three locations: the Floral Industry Innovation Center in Houbi District, the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City and the Southern Taiwan Science Park.
She has argued that investment in agriculture, semiconductors and medical technology could strengthen Tainan’s economic position and restore some of the prominence the city once held.
Chen has also proposed a closer working relationship between Tainan’s municipal government and Taiwan’s central government. Under her proposed approach, city officials would meet before the Cabinet’s regular meetings with special-municipality mayors to establish Tainan’s priorities.
Her campaign now enters the wider 2026 local-election contest, with her proposed policies placing agriculture, welfare, transportation and high-tech industries at the center of her platform.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
