The pan-green camp yesterday made substantial gains in the legislature, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) obtaining more than 43 percent of votes in the legislative election, against a little more than 50 percent for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP).
The DPP secured more than 4.5 million votes, or 34.6 percent of the vote. The TSU won 1.18 million votes, or 8.95 percent of the vote, while the KMT obtained more than 5.86 million, or 44.55 percent, and the PFP 722,000, or 5.48 percent.
Both the TSU and the PFP made their way back into the legislature by garnering more than 5 percent of the popular vote, a requirement for parties to secure legislator-at-large seats.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
The PFP had a total of 12 candidates competing in the fourth, sixth and eighth districts of Taipei, the first district in New Taipei City (新北市), the seventh and eighth districts in Greater Taichung, the first district in Greater Tainan, in Kinmen County and the third district of Taoyuan County, as well as the mountain area and plains Aboriginal districts.
Some of them were popular legislators, including Lee Ao (李敖) and Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), but almost none were able to gain sufficient votes to come out on top.
The performance of the candidates fielded by the two major parties — the KMT and the DPP — varied.
Photo: CNA
Despite the high publicity that surrounded his campaign, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the son of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), failed in his first bid as an independent candidate. His participation in the ninth district of Greater Kaohsiung is believed to have split the DPP vote and may have cost the DPP’s Kuo Wen-cheng’s (郭玟成) bid for re-election as he lost to KMT Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正).
Former New Party legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩), the daughter of former Vice Admiral Lei Hsueh-ming (雷學明), who left the KMT in 2007 for the New Party, also failed in her bid as an independent candidate in Zhonghe (中和), New Taipei City.
Former Lienchiang County commissioner Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), formerly of the PFP, but who ran as an independent, defeated incumbent KMT legislator Tsao Erh-chang (曹爾忠), who was seeking a sixth term in the legislature.
GRAPHIC: TT
Lin Pin-kuen (林炳坤) of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union and the incumbent legislator for Penghu was defeated by DPP Penghu County councilor Yang Yao (楊曜). Some attributed Lin’s surprising defeat to the fact that the airport in Penghu was closed because of heavy fog, which prevented some people from returning home to vote.
Despite his failure to unseat the KMT’s Alex Fei (費鴻泰), Green Party candidate Pan Han-sheng (潘翰聲) garnered more votes this year, as the DPP and PFP did not field candidates in the seventh district of Taipei.
Former legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), who was running as an independent candidate in the 12th district of New Taipei City and is rumored to have ties to organized crime, trailed the incumbent, KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) and DPP candidate Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠).
Lo’s son, KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), was re-elected in the 11th district of New Taipei City.
Meanwhile, four former Government Information Office ministers also ran in the legislative elections this year, with mixed results.
Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓), who was running for the KMT in Greater Tainan, failed to unseat DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財). Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the KMT beat his opponent, DPP legislative nominee Kuo Chun-ming (郭俊銘), in Greater Taichung.
DPP candidates Lin Chia-long (林佳龍) and Pasuya Yao (姚文智) both won in Greater Taichung and Taipei respectively. Lin defeated the incumbent, KMT legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交), while Pasuya Yao defeated Justin Chou (周守訓) of the KMT.
Former government spokesperson Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢), meanwhile, failed in his bid to unseat KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰).
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
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.