TAIPEI, May 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated lawmaker Puma Shen on Wednesday as its candidate for Taipei mayor, a man who has been sanctioned by China for what Beijing has described as his support for "separatism".
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, holds key mayoral and county chief elections in November, which while mostly focusing on local issues will offer a gauge of party support ahead of the next presidential vote in early 2028.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an from Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) will present Shen a stiff challenge given opinion polls have favoured Chiang's chances at re-election.
President Lai Ching-te, who is also DPP chairman, told a news conference to introduce Shen as the candidate that he was a "first rate talent" who understands how hard it was for Taiwan to transition from authoritarian rule to democracy.
"He also understands that the greatest threat to democracy and human rights still comes from China, and so he has actively engaged in efforts to counter cognitive warfare and disinformation, building Taiwan's social defence resilience," Lai added.
China slapped sanctions on Shen in 2024, along with the Kuma Academy he co-founded, which runs civil defence courses to prepare people to deal with a possible attack from Beijing.
While he is not allowed to travel to China and the academy is barred from operating in the country, the sanctions have little practical effect given senior DPP officials do not go to China and would never be allowed to run courses there.
China's legal system also has no authority or jurisdiction in Taiwan, whose DPP-led government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims saying only the island's people can decide their future.
Shen holds doctorate in criminology and law from the University of California, Irvine. He and Chiang are fluent English speakers and both regularly meet visiting foreign dignitaries.
The DPP has only won the Taipei mayorship once, when Chen Shui-bian ran the city from 1994-1998. He later went on to be the DPP's first president of Taiwan.
At the 2022 local elections, the DPP won five cities and counties to the KMT's 14.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
