Social rights activist Lai Hsiang-ling has been elected the director of the Taipei City Department of Labor. The newly-elected director is the secretary-general of Raging Citizens Act Now, which fights for the rights of laborers, immigrants, and other minorities.
Sunday’s election marks the first time in Taiwan’s history that an election has been used to choose a high-ranking official in the Taipei City government. It’s part of independent Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je’s “open government” plan, which he is calling an “experiment in direct democracy.”
Ko’s office said that 19,956 people registered to vote for the labor chief on line, while another 456 signed up to vote in person.
The election process for the labor director of Taipei began within days after Ko was elected mayor. His office put out the call for nominations, and a panel narrowed the pool down to five candidates. The final decision was then handed over to people who live and work in Taipei.