Unofficial observers from overseas praised the calm atmosphere and efficiency of yesterday's elections, although some commented on the low turnout rate among younger voters.
Member of the European Parliament for Hamburg Georg Jarzembowski, who came to Taiwan to observe the election, said the smooth way in which the voting process proceeded was an indication of the maturity of the nation's democracy.
"We did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Everything went as the polls have suggested," Jarzembowski said.
The election results signify that voters are dissatisfied with the incumbent government and are yearning for a fresh beginning to revive the economy, he said.
Jarzembowski, who heads the European Parliament's Taiwan Friendship Group, said he did not observe any misconduct at any of the polling stations he surveyed yesterday.
"The voters behaved just as we expected, orderly and enthusiastic," he said.
Jarzembowski said he was happy to see the candidates -- both winners and losers -- behave in a gracious manner.
Sebastian Dreyer, Taiwan Friendship Group secretary-general said the candidates had probably been on their best behavior because they knew their conduct in this election could influence the result of the presidential election in March.
Christopher Hughes, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said the calmness of yesterday's elections was a "good thing, because in the past elections have been too emotional."
Hughes attended several election rallies and said groups of party supporters were relatively calm, even when rallies of opposing parties took place next to each other.
Gudrun Wacker, head of the Research Unit Asia from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said candidates' campaign platforms, especially in southern counties, were mostly localized and had concentrated on developing the region's economy.
Some graduate students from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) said there was a very low turnout among younger voters.
They said some students might have found it difficult to travel all the way home to vote.
One student, Christina Lin, said she was concerned to see a lack of involvement among young voters.
"Some of the students that I talked to did not plan to vote," SAIS student Andrew Publicover said.
The SAIS students said they were able to attend various election events and talk to candidates about their policies.
They said the trip helped them gain a better understanding of Taiwan's political climate, especially on the issue of national identity, cross-strait relations and the role of the US in China-Taiwan relations.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked