2026 Elections: DPP candidate soldiers through broken tooth
By Huang Cheng-chia, Lo Kuo-chia and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Taipei City mayoral candidate, Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), resumed campaigning yesterday after breaking a tooth during a rally the night before.
Su broke the tooth on Saturday night while performing a song at a rally in Sinjhuang District (新莊), accidentally colliding with the arm of a traditional ceremonial deity figure.
She finished the song before leaving the stage to seek medical treatment.
DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Chiao-hui, center, gestures to supporters during a campaign event in New Taipei City yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Speaking to reporters before a campaign motorcade tour yesterday morning, Su said the tooth had already been repaired and that her dentist had done such an impressive job that it looked as good as new. She took the opportunity to promote her campaign pledge to subsidize dentures for older residents.
Su said she appreciated the many people who had expressed concern, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral candidate Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜).
Su said the ceremonial figure had actually blessed her by knocking out her tooth. The Taiwanese expression for losing a tooth sounds like the English word “lucky,” she said, adding that she was confident of winning the election.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) New Taipei City mayoral candidate Lee Shu-chuan, front left on top of vehicle, campaigns with New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, front right on top of the vehicle, in New Taipei City yesterday.
Photo: Lo Kuo-chia, Taipei Times
Su, 50, is seeking to end the KMT's control of New Taipei City, Taiwan's most populous city, home to around 4 million people. The KMT has governed the city since it became a special municipality in 2010.
At a campaign rally on Saturday, President William Lai (賴清德) praised Su as the most suitable candidate for mayor, invoking a Taiwanese saying that translates roughly as “Broken bones make you stronger, and even when your teeth are knocked out, you swallow the blood and carry on.”
Elsewhere, Hou and Lee campaigned together for a second time yesterday, touring Sanchong District (三重) to win support in a traditional DPP stronghold.
As he prepares to leave the mayor’s office, Hou said he has never intended to designate a successor, but wanted to pass responsibility to someone capable of delivering results and familiar with the city.
He said Lee was the right person for the job, because of his experience serving as deputy mayor in Kaohsiung and Taipei.
Lee, 68, is making his first bid for elected office after spending more than four decades in public service.
Hou’s eight years of achievements were evident to everyone, Lee said.
He pledged to build on Hou’s work and continue improving the city, saying he would draw on his experience overseeing the construction of Taipei Arena and completing the Taipei Dome to ensure the proposed New Taipei Dome is completed on schedule and to the required standard. The venue would host major sporting events and concerts, helping stimulate the local economy, he added.
Lee yesterday posted a video on Facebook, proposing employment subsidies for people in their 30s and 40s who had left their jobs to care for their families and wanted to return to work.
If elected, eligible workers in the city who re-entered the workforce would receive NT$5,000 per month for up to three months, for a maximum subsidy of NT$15,000, he said.
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