Yu Dynasty Yingdala (4338-4636)

[Wu Han]

Lotus Party Leadership Election Enters Final Phase
Four candidates vie for the leadership after Wu Hán's resignation
KAIZHOU, JIAOZHI - 4 April 4270


Lotus Party leadership candidates (Top, left to right: Thao Thanh Thai, Huang Zitao. Bottom, left to right: Yi Shufen, Linda Wong

As the Lotus Party leadership race enters its final stretch, four candidates remain: Thao Thanh Thai, a member of the National Conference and ethnic Dinh activist; Former Finance Minister and human rights lawyer Huang Zitao; Yi Shufen, long time student and labour activist and member of the National Conference; and Linda Wong, a star venture-capitalist and former economist. The shape of the race is hard to tell so far, although polls suggest that the race is solidifying around Huang Zitao and Yi Shufen, which indicates the party base is supportive of its establishment. Linda Wong recently sent out a fundraising email which in part asked for her supporters to select Huang Zitao as their second choice in the ranked preferential ballot. However, 400,000 members have joined the party in recent months, increasing Lotus Party membership to a record 1.8 million, and adding a level of unpredictability to the race.

Thao Thanh Thai

Thao Thanh Thai was the first candidate to announce his intention to run when he launched his campaign five days after Wu Hán's resignation. He was noted in the media for his open frustration with the Lotus Party candidate registration process which, among others, asks candidates to submit a 50,000 INS deposit. Thao criticized this at a campaign stop, claiming that: "the Lotus Party has become a party for the bourgeois in our country. When I am elected leader, this party will have one requirement to live by: Socialism, socialism, socialism." Thao Thanh Thai hopes to become the first Dinh Leader of a major political party in Indrala.


Huang Zitao

Huang Zitao has been a well-known name in legal circles for many years for his success in human rights arbitration and trials. Huang was a founding member of the Lotus Party, having been a close friend and advisor to former leader Wu Hán. Huang served as the first Lotus Party President and later Huang served as Minister of Finance for all eleven years the Party was in power. As leader, Huang hopes to continue Wu's legacy, as well as work to continue to "expand our movement to embrace as many compassionate Patriots as possible." Huang was the third candidate to enter the race. Huang and his family are well known in Jiaozhi and across the country: His youngest son Huang Yao (known commonly as just Yao) is a popular teenage pop singer in Indrala. His oldest son, Huang Bohai, is a professional archer, and his daughter Huang Xia is the founder and Chairwoman of the International Children's Defence League.


Yi Shufen

Yi Shufen is a founding member of the Lotus Party and has served as chair of the Women's Council of the Lotus Party since the party's founding, as well as serving as the first chair of the Young Lotisians (the Party's youth wing). Prior to entering politics, Yi graduated Indrala University with her bachelor's degree in Indralan history, and later entered the Armed Forces, serving for seven years in the Navy. During her time in the Navy, Yi became a vocal critic for the rights of women in male-dominated fields of work. Yi served as Minister of Justice in Chancellor Wu's first term, having been replaced with the Coalition candidate afterward. Yi has been a critic of the Party's "list toward the right" and promises to reaffirm the Lotus Party as "fiercely and unabashedly leftist." Yi was the second candidate to enter the race.

Linda Wong

As host of the daily investment commentary show "Wong Weighs In" on the Tian'an News Network, Linda Wong has been a fixture of Indralan economic news broadcasting for the past 15 years. Linda Wong is a multimillionaire celebrity venture-capitalist who has long advocated "progressive and sustainable" investment, and has used her media platform to showcase this investment strategy. Wong first became active in politics during the manufacturing crisis of 4255, when she publically joined the Lotus Party after criticizing the RC's "disgusting, dumb and dimwitted neglect of our economy." Wong again made headlines after announcing she would be the only leadership candidate to personally finance her campaign. Wong was the last candidate to enter the race.

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Originally posted by Wu Han on 11 September 2017.