The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was dealt another round of setbacks at the local level yesterday after it lost a number of seats that were contested in 17 councilor speaker and vice speaker elections, while three councilors supported by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were elected.
The KMT nominated 10 council speakers and eight were elected. In vice speaker elections, the party nominated eight and five were elected.
Political analysts said yesterday that because municipal councils have historically been controlled by the KMT, the results could be seen as a win for the DPP.
All of the 17 speaker seats were controlled by KMT-supported councilors in the last session.
The DPP-supported councilors were elected yesterday in Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Hsinchu County.
In other news, independent councilors were elected as speaker in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties. The DPP controls a total of 128 county or city council seats in the 17 cities and counties compared with 289 by the KMT.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said the party had a different nomination strategy this time around.
In other words, the party rejected nominating controversial figures, he said. Although the total number was lower than they had before, Su said, it was the price they had to pay during the process of party reform.
Meanwhile, vice speaker of Hualien County Council Lai Ching-kun (賴進坤) was re-elected yesterday but later indicted for vote-buying.
Lai, a KMT member, was re-elected yesterday morning, but may not be in office long.
Hualien prosecutors said if Lai was found guilty, he would be removed from his post.
Lai was charged with vote buying for allegedly bribing voters with NT$2,000 in cash in December’s county’s councilor election, prosecutors said they have solid evidence that Lai used money in the election.
Lai has denied the charge.
There are 33 councilors in Hualien County, and Lai garnered 26 ballots in yesterday’s election.
In related news, the current speaker of Chaiyi City Council Tsai Kuei-szu (蔡貴絲) of the KMT was defeated by independent councilor Lin Cheng-hsun (林承勳) by one ballot yesterday in yesterday’s speakership election.
Tsai is Hsiao Teng-shih’s (蕭登獅) wife. Hsiao is former chairman of the Chiayi Farmers’ Association and was arrested on Friday.
Chiayi City Council has 24 councilors.
Police said some councilors had complained of being threatened by gangsters; 19 had police escorts before the election.
Hsiao’s arrest was believed to have had an impact on his wife’s election.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO AND KO SHU-LING
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or