The DPP has formally nominated legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) to run for Taipei mayor in November’s election. DPP leader Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who is also Taiwan’s president, announced the nomination at a press conference in Taipei on Wednesday, May 13.

“Puma Shen not only possesses interdisciplinary expertise in law, criminology and public policy, but has also long been involved in work related to democratic deepening, human rights advocacy and national security resilience, making him the best candidate for Taipei mayor,” Lai said.

Shen is expected to face the incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the KMT in the election scheduled for November 28. The last time a DPP candidate won a mayoral election in Taiwan’s capital city was in 1994.

“Change is possible. It just needs a beginning, needs determination,” Shen said at the press conference. He said Taipei’s problem is not a lack of resources, but a lack of long-term planning.

Shen, who co-founded civil defense organization Kuma Academy, has been sanctioned by Beijing, which put him on a list of people it described as “die-hard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists.”