Taiwan’s only Indigenous autonomous district sees fierce race for district chief

The race for district chief in Taichung’s Heping District is intensifying, with four people reportedly considering a bid before candidate registration closes on Sept. 4.

Heping is Taichung’s only Indigenous autonomous district. Current district representatives Lin Jicai, Luo Qinghui and Wu Tianyou, along with former Taichung County councilor Chen Wenshu, have been named as potential candidates. Lin completed registration first on Wednesday morning.

The current district chief, Wu Wanfu, is due to step down at the end of the year after serving two terms.

Eligibility has become a point of dispute. Taiwan’s Local Government Act says chiefs of mountain townships and urban Indigenous districts created from them must have Indigenous status. Wu Tianyou is not Indigenous, but says a separate provision added in a 2014 revision creates ambiguity. He argues that non-Indigenous residents should not have voting rights without the right to stand for election. He said he would file an administrative appeal and register to run in an effort to challenge the current arrangement.

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In an era governed by the rule of law, people from the plains in Heping District should not have only the right to vote and not the right to be elected.