The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Chiang Yi-hsiung (
Chiang, who is a law professor at Chiayi's National Chung Cheng University, received 42,879 votes, winning by 3,038 votes.
The voter turnout rate was just 45.2 percent.
PHOTO: CNA
The by-election was held in order to fill the vacancy left by the KMT's Huang Min-hui (
The by-election gives the KMT a total of 88 seats in the legislature, the same number held by the DPP.
Chiang's win also helped increase the pan-blue camp's legislative majority to 112 out of 221 occupied seats.
Chiang declared victory before the official result had even been announced.
Chen, who suffered her second defeat after also losing the Chiayi mayoral election, expressed regret over the result, and urged the pan-blue camp not to simply oppose everything the government proposes.
"We hope that the legislature will give more support to the government. Do not oppose our livelihood bills and budgets for no reason," she said.
The KMT's victory in Chiayi, a city in which the pan-green camp used to enjoy a high support rate, showed that the KMT has won local residents' hearts, the party said.
"I think the party's second victory in the city proved that Huang's win was not just an isolated phenomenon. The city's residents have identified with the KMT," said Liao Feng-teh (
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by