A Greener South
From Lin Tseng-nan's (林宗男) victory in central Taiwan's Nantou County (南投) to the southern tip of the island, the DPP racked up victories in all seats except Taichung City and County and Yunlin County.
In Chiayi County and Changhua County, Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) and Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) respectively seized leadership from the KMT.
DPP candidates Hsu Tien-tsai (許添財), Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) and Su Chia-chuan (蘇嘉全) respectively took Tainan City, Tainan County, Kaohsiung County and Pingtung County.
Analysts said that the DPP's sweeping victory in southern Taiwan could be attributed to a close-knit relationship between local factions and the DPP-led central government. They said local factions which had previously cooperated with the former KMT government may have changed allegiance and thrown their support behind the new government.
In addition, the DPP's Su Chen-chang (蘇貞昌) and Liu Shou-cheng (劉守成) successfully defended the party's leadership of Taipei County in the north and Ilan County in the east.
The PFP, which participated in local elections for the first time, occupies two remote counties previously held by the KMT. Legislator Hsu Ching-yuan (徐慶元) took Taitung County, previously held by the KMT, while Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) swept to victory in Lienchiang County (連江縣) -- the official administrative title for the Matsu archipelago (馬祖).
A victory in Kinmen County was the New Party's only cause for joy in yesterday's elections. New Party legislator Lee Chu-feng (李炷烽) gained the largest number of votes ever, at 14,148, in the history of local elections for commissioner in Kinmen.
"Our victory in Kinmen shows the results of our long-term devotion to the county," said New Party Secretary-General Lee Bin-nan (
"Kinmen voters have demonstrated their new vision in this election. It's time for some fresh air around here so we can make headway on improving stale cross-strait relations," Kinmen County commissioner-elect Lee said yesterday.
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