Taipei’s new mayor-elect – independent Ko Wen-je – hit the ground running after winning by some 200,000 votes on Saturday night.
Ko met with campaign staffers late into the night following his win over the KMT’s Sean Lien, the son of former Vice President Lien Chan.
Ko spoke on Sunday about his plans for staffing the city government. He said that several of his high ranking staffers have already ruled out working for the city government. He said his first pick for vice mayor was former New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau Director Teng Chia-chi, who is from the New Party.
Ko said that Teng was not only an expert on the environment who had studied in the United States, he had also served as a city councilor, which would enable him to act as a liaison with the Taipei city council.
Ko says he is planning to fill most of the top positions within five days. He said the priority would be on maintaining stability within the city government, so officials in charge of day-to-day affairs would largely remain in their positions. Ko pledged to maintain a small, specialized staff. As for whether he would prioritize hiring female candidates, Ko said that women would only receive preference when all other qualifications were equal.