The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday retained two legislative seats, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lost one of the two seats it previously held in legislative by-elections held in four cities and counties.
The DPP’s Yu Tian (余天) beat the KMT’s Cheng Shih-wei (鄭世維) and independent Su Ching-yen (蘇卿彥) in New Taipei City, and the DPP’s Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) defeated the KMT’s Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), as well as independent candidates Chen Hsiao-yu (陳筱諭), Wu Ping-hui (吳炳輝) and Hsu Kuo-tung (徐國棟), in Tainan.
In Changhua County, the KMT’s Ko Cheng-fang (柯呈枋) bested the DPP’s Huang Chen-yen (黃振彥), the New Power Party’s Yang Tse-min (楊澤民) and independent Chi Ching-tang (紀慶堂), while independent candidate Chen Yu-chen (陳玉珍) claimed victory in Kinmen County, defeating the KMT’s Hung Li-ping (洪麗萍) and independent candidates Chen Tsang-chiang (陳滄江), Tsai Hsi-hu (蔡西湖) and Lu Kuan-yu (盧冠宇), as well as the Kinmen Kaoliang Party’s Hung Chih-heng (洪志恆).
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
The by-elections were held to fill four seats vacated by lawmakers who won public posts in local elections in November last year or were stripped of their office by courts due to corruption.
Political observers had previously said that the by-elections would be a harbinger of next year’s presidential election.
The DPP and the KMT brought party heavyweights during campaigning, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former premier William Lai (賴清德) lobbying for DPP candidates, and Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) stumping for KMT candidates.
The KMT was hoping to ride the momentum it created in the local elections when it won a majority of the municipalities, while the DPP suffered a setback, the observers said.
The DPP, on the other hand, was hoping to make a comeback, they added.
At a post-election news conference at party headquarters in Taipei, DPP Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said: “The DPP did not win — we just stopped the bleeding for now. While the outcome is encouraging, we are not calling for celebrations.”
The DPP would continue to build a coalition of individuals, organizations and parties with different ideals, but are united by a common cause, Luo said, before thanking Sunflower movement activist Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) for stumping for Yu on Friday evening.
Asked whether the results suggested a weakening of the “Han wave,” a term that refers to Han’s reputation for energizing voters for other pan-blue political candidates, Luo said: “The only wave I care about is the democratic wave.”
KMT spokesman Ouyang Lung (歐陽龍) said that the KMT did not capture the three seats it targeted elsewhere, but held the line in Changhua County.
“Now is not the time for the KMT to be proud. We promise to the public that we will do everything in our power to nominate the best candidates for the presidency, vice presidency and lawmakers in the elections next year,” he said.
Additional reporting by Su Fun-her
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS